some of residential plots allocated for teachers...

Truthful, Factual and [email protected] Vol:IX Issue No:319 Price: Afs.15Eye on the News

www.facebook.com/ afghanistantimeswww.twitter.com/ afghanistantimesTHURSDAY . JUNE 25 . 2015 -Saratan 04, 1394 HS www.afghanistantimes.af

61.75 60.35

68.77 67.37

KABUL: President MohammadAshraf Ghani said his countryoffered attractive investment op-portunities, predicting Afghani-stan would be a major iron andcopper exporting country in nextten years. The president ex-pressed these views in his meet-ing with Chinese delegation, astatement from the PresidentialPalace stated on Wednesday. Re-ferring to Afghanistan s geograph-ical location and rich mineral re-sources, Ghani strategy was be-ing mulled to offer more invest-ment opportunities to both localand foreign investors. Afghani-stan is geographically located in aregion which can connect central,northern and eastern Asian statesbut we need to focus on infrastruc-ture development, he remarked.His government has focused onrailway track, gas pipeline, con-struction of roads, developingmodern agricultural and irrigationsystem and creating opportunitiesfor youth. He asked the Chinesedelegation to connect Wakhan toChina through railway line. Af-ghanistan has vast water resourc-es which have not been properlyused due to old irrigation system,the president said, adding that at26,000 megawatt electricity couldbe produced had we used themodern technology which wouldnot be only sufficient for Afghan-istan but could also be exportedto neighboring states like India andPakistan. (Pajhwok)

Afghanistan toexport copper,iron in next tenyears: Ghani

KABUL: Kisham district chiefwas seriously wounded in a blastin the southeastern Badakhshanprovince on Wednesday, said lo-cal officials. Ahmad Navid Foro-tan, spokesman for the provincialgovernor office, said that militantsin remote-controlled bomb blasttargeted Kisham district chiefaround 11:00 am on Wednesdaynear his office. The blast alsowounded a guard of the districtchief, he added. According to an-other source in the province thedistrict chief has been rushed toKunduz hospital for treatment.The source described the healthcondition of the district chief asserous. It is not clear yet thatwhether it was suicide blast or anIED blast, it added. The Talibanmilitants have claimed the respon-sibility of the attack.

KABUL: A woman was allegedlydecapitated by her husband in thewestern Herat province, said anofficial in the province on Wednes-day. Abdul Rauf Ahmadi, spokes-man for Herat police, said that 25-year old, Laila has been killed byher husband. Ahmadi added thatthe culprit has fled the scene. Hesaid that security forces havelaunched a search operation to ar-rest the perpetrator of the act.

Laila was originally fromGhor province but was currentlyliving in IDP camp in Shaidayeearea of Herat city. Abdul Majid,an immediate relative of the vic-tim, urged the government to bringthe culprit to the book. Officialsin Afghanistan Independent Hu-man Rights Commission s officein Herat province said that theyhave registered six cases of vio-lence against women over the pastmonth.

KABUL: Due to mounting inse-curity, the Ministry of PublicHealth (MoPH) has shut itshealthcare centers in different ar-eas in Helmand and Kunduz prov-inces. Wahidullah Malyar,spokesman for the MoPH, toldAzadi Radio that due to ongoingfighting in Kunduz province, theyare unable to provide healthcareservices to people in Chahardaradistrict and Tapah-e-Borida areas.

Man beheadswife in Herat

AT News Report

Kisham districtchief injuredin IED blast

AT News Report

A police officer sprays tear gas at migrants trying to access the Channel Tunnel entranceon the A16 Highway in Calais, northern France.

Insecurity pushes MoPH to shutmedical centers in Helmand, Kunduz

AT Monitoring Desk We have also shut our medicalcenters in Musa Qala, Sangin andNawzad district of southern Hel-mand province, he added. Mal-yar said that they will not be ableto provide healthcare services topeople in the areas, unless securi-ty situation improves. This comesat a time that recent fighting inHelmand and Kunduz provinceshave displaced thousands of peo-ple, who are currently facing manychallenges including lack of accessto healthcare services.

The Afghan National StandardsAuthority (ANSA) signed anagreement with AfghanistanChamber of Commerce and Indus-tries (ACCI) aimed at supportingstandardization and implementa-tion of international norms relat-ed to Afghan products. The agree-ment was signed on Wednesdaybetween Head of ANSA, PopalzaiPopal, and Chief Executive Offic-

KABUL: US Ambassador toNATO Douglas Lute on Wednes-day said his country would be amajor contributor to the alliance smission in Afghanistan beyond2016. Lute was speaking at apress conference in Brusselsahead of NATO defence ministe-rial meeting scheduled to begin inthe Belgium capital this afternoon.The two-day meeting will be at-tended by defence ministers from41 NATO member states and part-ners. Afghan defence ministernominee Masoom Stanikzai willalso attend the meeting. Lute saidthey would welcome Stanikzai atthe meeting. We ll welcome Af-ghan Acting Defense MinisterStanekzai to the Resolute Sup-port session. Again, this is Af-ghanistan with 40-plus NATOpartners. The US ambassadorsaid the new defense ministerwould have a chance to reflect onhow was the train, advise and as-sist (TAA) mission working andwhat should be their plans for thefuture after six months into themission. To a question about anypossible changes in the US pull-out timeline from Afghanistan,Lute said it was a decision to bemade in Washington after thisfighting season. He said presi-dents Ashraf Ghani and BarackObama had agreed this year wouldobviously be a fighting seasonduring which the Afghan forceswould be tested. I think that sproving to be true. They alsoagreed that together they wouldtake an assessment as to progressthis year and what the challengesof the future lay. I don t have aforecast for you on how that as-sessment will go, but I think wecan agree that this is a real chal-lenge. This will be, has been sofar, and will continue to be a chal-lenging year for the Afghan Secu-rity Forces. As to the US contri-bution to the NATO mission be-yond Resolute Support, Lute said,so far in the first 13 years of themission, the US forces had beengreater than any other allies. (Pajhwok)

US to be amajorcontributorto post-2016mission: Lute

KABUL: The office of the ChiefExecutive Officer (CEO) onWednesday reassured the elector-al reforms commission would startwork by the end of current weekamid claims that all differencesbetween leaders of the unity gov-ernment regarding electoral re-forms had been resolved. Elector-al reforms was a major point ofagreement between PresidentMohammad Ashraf Ghani andCEO Abdullah Abdullah, based onwhich the unity government wasformed. Based on a presidentialdecree, the electoral reforms com-mission was formed three monthsback, but the panel has yet to of-ficially resume work. Javed Fais-al, deputy CEO spokesman, toldPajhwok Afghan News the panelwould start work by end of theweek with president officially is-

suing a decree about it. Basedon the unity government leaderscommitment, it is planned that thecommission should start work byend of the week. No more excuseis left to cause delay for the com-mission s work, he added. Ac-cording to Faisal, all differenceshave been resolved and both lead-ers were on same page about com-mission s work. Two monthsback, lawmaker Shukria Barekzaiwas appointed as head of the pan-el by the president. The move wasopposed by the CEO and no al-ternative has officially been nom-inated for the post. Deputy CEOspokesman without going intodetails said the differences overappointment of the panel s headhad also been resolved. If any-one wants it or not electoral re-forms have to come. Without re-

forms there will be no elections.Meanwhile, the Independent Elec-tion Commission (IEC) say thegovernment is not capable of con-

duction parliamentary electionsthis year and an alternative datewould be announced soon.(Pajhwok)

ANSA, ACCI sign agreement to standardize local productsBy Akhtar M. Nikzad

A number of local people toldRadio Azadi that if the clashescontinued, many of trapped chil-dren and women will die due tolack of medicines. There is noclinic in Chahardara district nowand government has no controlover the region, said Hashmatul-lah, a resident of the district.

Mujib, a resident of Helmandprovince, said that there is no clin-ic or medical doctor in their areasand people are faced with manyproblems.

HERAT CITY: The residents ofwestern Herat province onWednesday complained againstlow voltage of electricity import-ed from neighboring Iran and Turk-menistan. They said frequentpower outages and low voltage inthe month of holy Ramadan hadcreated serious problems for themand damaged home appliances.

Low power voltage irks Herat residentsBut Wahid Ahmad Kamrani, act-ing head of the Breshna Shirkatfor Herat, said growing gap in de-mand and supply of electricitysupply, technical problems exist-ing within the system and increasein the temperature in Herat andTurkmenistan were main reasonsof outages and low voltage. Wetalked to officials concerned in

Turkmenistan who said demandfor electricity supply had surgedin their country and Afghanistanand that was why there was moreload shading, he added.Currently, the Breshna Shirkat wasimporting 120 megawatt electric-ity from Iran and 20 megawattfrom Turkmenistan to Heart.(Pajhwok)

India calls forfresh look attroop withdrawalfrom AfghanistanJust hours after insurgents carriedout a complex attack on Afghani-stan's parliament this week, India'srepresentative to the UN SecurityCouncil Asoke Kumar Mukerjiexpressed concern over the deteri-orating security situation in Af-ghanistan and said that terrorism,and not tribal or ethnic differenc-es, was the main source of insecu-rity and instability in the country.

Addressing the usual SecurityCouncil meeting late Monday,Mukerji said the spike in violencewas taking place at a time whenAfghanistan was in the midst of asensitive historical political tran-sition and in light of this there is "astrong case for the internationalcommunity to take a fresh look atthe manner in which the drawdownof the international military pres-ence in Afghanistan was beingplanned". Mukerji said the 7,180foreign militants presently in Af-ghanistan as documented in theSecretary-General's latest report

could not have entered the coun-try or continued to sustain theirattacks without support from be-yond that State's borders. "Indiawill continue to support a trulyAfghan-led and owned reconcili-ation process," he said, stressingthe importance of enhancing thecountry's economic connectivityto markets in the region. Afghani-stan's UN ambassador Zahir Ta-nin told the Security Council onMonday that a new offensiveagainst the Afghan government andpeople is being compounded by"an unprecedented convergence" ofTaliban insurgents, more than7,000 foreign fighters, and violentgroups including Daesh. Tanin toldthe UN Security Council thatthese groups not only target Af-ghan troops and civilians with sui-cide bombings, improvised explo-sive devices, hostage-taking andassassinations but they seek con-trol of districts and provinces asbases for their activities in Afghan-istan as well as south and centralAsia. Meanwhile, addressing thesame Security Council meeting thisweek, Nicholas Haysom, the UNenvoy for Afghanistan, said Af-ghan forces have been stretched,tested, and faced operational chal-lenges since taking on full securityresponsibilities following the with-drawal of foreign troops at the endof last year. Nonetheless, he said,"Afghanistan is meeting its securi-ty challenges" in the face of an in-tensifying conflict across the coun-try, reported AP. The commitmentof Afghan troops "is beyond ques-tion," Haysom added, "and theyare demonstrating resilience in theface of insurgent efforts to take andhold ground."

er of ACCI, Atiqullah Nusrat, toprovide and promote the standardsrelated to products. Atiqullah Nus-rat said that every market in thecountry is full of low quality im-ported goods which are threateningpeople s life. He termed lack of stan-dards and technical regulations a bigchallenge towards exportations,adding that absent of internationalnorms had slowed the national eco-nomic growth. Regarding contribu-tion of the ACCI in implementa-

tion of the standards, he said thatACCI participated in 14 meetingson national standards and had sig-nificant role in determining 441norms in 2007. Speaking at thesigning agreement ceremony, KhanJan Alkozai, the deputy chief ofACCI said that observation offood security and importation ofstandard goods, especially in med-icines is the responsibility of pri-vate sector. He termed implemen-tation of standards and technical

norms in business an effective eco-nomical, social and cultural mea-sure for improvement of tradedealings, adding that import oflow quality goods, particularlypoor quality medicine should beprohibited.Popalzai Popal said that standard-ization is essential measure to befulfilled in all sectors and comple-tion of standards in trade and pro-ductions would ensure the eco-nomic growth.

KABUL: The Chief of Afghani-stan Independent Land Authori-ty (AILA) on Wednesday saidthat influential individuals haveusurped some of the residentialplots allocated for teachers. TheMinister of Education, Chief ofIndependent Administrative Re-forms and Civil Services Commis-sion (IARCSC), AILA s chief andthe Deputy Minister of Financewere the main officials summonedby the Wolesi Jirga to brief thelawmakers on grievances of theteachers who protested last weekagainst injustice. Chief of AILA,Jawed Paikar, said that most ofthe land allocated for the teach-ers townships was usurped byinfluential people. While not men-

Some of residential plots allocated forteachers usurped: AILAAbdul Zuhoor Qayomi tioning any name, he said the

powerful figures usurped56,000 acres of land allocated forthe proposed townships for theteachers. He termed distributionof residential plots among teach-ers an unsuccessful project, add-ing that most of the teachers havesold their plots as they could notafford constructing house. How-ever, the teachers received someof the plots to build houses, hesaid. Lack of shelter and low sal-ary are key challenges for theteachers that resulted in protestagainst the government. Theteachers are protesting for thepast two months in favor of theirdemands, Paikar said. He sug-gested that a specific organizationshould be established for con-struction of townships for teach-

ers instead of distributing the plots.He also proposed establishment oftrust fund for teachers to build thetownships. Minister of Education,Asadullah Hanif Balkhi, said that80,000 residential plots were dis-tributed among the teachers in dif-ferent parts of the country whiledistribution of the plots in otherparts of the country is on the cards,but after survey. The teachers areunable to build houses as their sal-ary is insufficient. It will be betterif the government builds two-roomhouses for them, proposed Balkhi.He also said that a specific com-mission comprised of different or-ganizations has been established towork on demands of the protestingteachers. It requires enough timeto answer to the demands of theteachers, added the education min-

ister. Balkhi further said that theeducation ministry has drafted anew mechanism for increasing sala-ries of the teachers through amend-ments in the civil services law, add-ing the law would be implementedafter approved by the parliamentand the Cabinet. However, he saidthat the ministry does not have fundsto build apartments for the teach-ers. The deputy finance minister,Mustafa Mastoor, said the minis-try has allocated $700,000 for theMinistry of Urban Development inthe current fiscal year s budget tobuild townships for the teachers. Hesaid that extra privileges for teach-ers, working in insecure areas, wouldbe provided through the ordinarybudget of the ministry of education,next year. He said that it was al-ready a huge portion of funds sug-gested to the finance ministry asspecial fund for teachers working ininsecure areas, but it was rejecteddue to lack of funds.

http://www.facebook.com/afghanistantimes

http://www.twitter.com/afghanistantimes

http://www.afghanistantimes.af

This document was created with Win2PDF available at http://www.win2pdf.com.The unregistered version of Win2PDF is for evaluation or non-commercial use only.This page will not be added after purchasing Win2PDF.

http://www.win2pdf.com

THURSDAY . JUNE 25, 2015

AFGHANISTAN TIMES

He said: The AREDP training pro-grammes through MRRD havebeen very useful to me. Over thepast year, I have learned more thanin a decade of working and experi-encing these issues.

Abdul Hamid works in a three-hectare farm in Behsoud districtof Nangarhar Province, and raisesmore than 25,000 fish, 7,000chickens and over 30 cattle annu-ally. He explains:In the past, wekept nine enclosures of fish, butnow we have 14. Our farm couldpreviously only accommodate 20cows, but it can now accommo-date up to 100.

We have also created sevennew jobs. We have greatly benefit-ed from this training programme,and it has allowed us to expandsignificantly. Shir Afzal, who alsoworks on the same farm, particu-larly enjoys caring for the farm sfish. He and his junior co-workersreceive salaries of approximately$100 per month.he says: We keep1,500 to 2,000 fish in eachenclosure.The fish are very smallwhen they arrive here. We raisethem for about a year, and thensell them on the market when theygrow to be one to two kilograms inweight. The AREDP programmeis funded through the AfghanistanReconstruction Trust Fund(ARTF); to which the UK is a keydonor.

Increased incomeFOR AFGHANFARM OWNERS

AREDP helps small and mediumsized businesses boost income andemployment opportunities in ru-ral areas. Afghanistan Rural Enter-prise Development Program(AREDP) is providing farmerswith training and greater support.As a result, their farms are moreproductive businesses and they cancreate job for others. Read AbdulHamid s (one of the beneficiaries)story below: Abdul Hamid (42) isfrom Nangarhar province in east-ern Afghanistan. He has beenworking in animal husbandry forover a decade. Abdul Hamid pre-viously had his own poultry busi-ness, but had little understandingof modern animal husbandry andhad to close it down. He explains:Because of financial losses, mypoultry business was shut down.I lost more than 900,000 Afs (al-most $16,000). In January 2014,with support from the AfghanistanRural Enterprise DevelopmentProgram (AREDP) which is im-plemented by the Afghan Minis-try of Rural Rehabilitation andDevelopment (MRRD), AbdulHamid visited farms in India andreceived training in animal hus-bandry. Abdul Hamid says: In In-dia I saw modern farms and rea-lised that Afghanistan is at least20 years behind in cattle farmingand poultry. He is delighted withthe results of the AREDP training.

Afghanistan s new national hero:Bang! Bang! Bang! I shot all six

Isa Khan Laghmani, 28, had littletime to collect himself after a sui-cide car bomb near the Afghanparliament building caused theloudest explosion he had ever

heard. His ears ringing, it took theAfghan army staff sergeant sev-eral seconds to realize that theconverted shipping container heand other soldiers were standingin was filled with dust and smoke.Knowing from experience thatsuch a bombing in Afghanistan isoften followed by militants onfoot, the 10-year veteran grabbedhis M-16 assault rifle andstepped outside, near the entranceto the parliament complex.

When he saw a group ofyoung militants approaching, hehesitated for a second beforeopening fire. I said bismillah [inthe name of God], and then: Bang!Bang! Bang! he said in an inter-view Tuesday, a day after thebombing. I shot all six. The sol-dier s bravado made him a nation-al sensation in Afghanistan in thewake of the latest Taliban assaulton the parliament, in which twocivilians were killed and 40wounded. The morning after foot-age of him narrating his exploitsto local media went viral Mon-day evening, young men hungposters with his picture aroundKabul and President Ashraf Ghanigave him a three-bedroom house.

With Afghan security forcessuffering heavy casualties in astruggle to contain a Taliban of-fensive and many criticizingGhani s attempt to open peacetalks with the insurgents as vio-lence increases, Laghmani s storymade him an instant hero for acountry and a beleaguered govern-ment that desperately needed one.The Afghan government got moregood news Tuesday with reportsthat security forces had retakencontrol of a key district at thedoorstep of the capital of the

northern province of Kunduz. ATaliban advance over the week-end had brought the militants towithin a few miles of the city,home to some 300,000 people.

Laghmani s version of eventscould not be independently con-firmed. On Tuesday two membersof the security forces stationed at

Afghan army Staff Sgt. Isa Khan Laghmani, 28, is shownTuesday, one day after he says he shot all six Taliban gunmenthreatening the parliament building in Kabul, Afghanistan.

a roadblock near the parliamentcompound said that at least oneother soldier also fatally shotsome of the six militants but didnot tell his story publicly out offear of becoming a Taliban target.The swaggering Laghmani had nosuch fear. I made myself a targetfor the Taliban 10 years ago afterhe joined the army, he said. Be-lieve me, I ve done much worseto them in that time. The fatherof three, whose family lives in theeastern city of Jalalabad, dreamedas a boy of joining the army andhas served in the southern prov-inces of Kandahar, Zabul andUruzgan. When he applied to bereassigned to Kabul six years ago,it was at the urging of his family,who worried about his safety, hesaid. I wanted to be where theaction was and where I could real-ly be of service to the nation, hesaid. After the suicide bomberblew himself up at the entrance tothe parliament in West KabulMonday morning, while lawmak-ers were inside preparing to voteon Ghani s nominee for defenseminister, the six Taliban gunmen

stepped out of a minivan parkedseveral hundred feet away. In thetime it took the gunmen to reachthe road leading to the parliamentbuilding, they fired off severalrounds, at least one rocket and sixor seven hand grenades, whichwere responsible for most of thecasualties, witnesses said. Insidethe building, Abdul Rauf Ibrahim,

the parliamentary speaker, triedto maintain order as lawmakerspanicked at the sight of falling dustand debris. Once the six gunmenwere within shooting range, Lagh-mani said it took him 10 or 15minutes to fire off the rounds thatkilled them. I only used one-and-a-half or two rounds of bullets, sothe government doesn t think IsaKhan used a lot of bullets, he said.

On Tuesday morning, a 31-year-old man named Hairan wasamong a group of men hanging aposter with Laghmani s face. Hai-ran, who has only one name andhails from Kunduz, said Lagh-mani s bravery sent a message tothe Taliban, whom he describedas infidels. We are doing it be-cause we want to show the Tali-ban that we are with the peopleof Afghanistan and those who pro-tect us, not them, Hairan said.Ghani tweeted of Laghmani: I mso proud of his resolve and hero-ism. Laghmani said he had seen afew of the posters but that he wasonly glad to have the chance toserve his country. I thanked thepresident for the three-bedroom

house, but I also told him, I hopeyou don t expect me to sit athome now, Laghmani said. I amof this nation and I want to con-tinue to defend it.

Latifi is a special correspon-dent. Staff writer Shashank Ben-gali contributed to this report fromMumbai, India. (Lost AngelesTimes)

Men attach a poster of Afghan army Staff Sgt. Isa Khan Laghmani to a fence in Kabul,Afghanistan, on Tuesday. (Ali M. Latifi / Los Angeles Times)

Ice cream and dreams melt asKANDAHARS ELECTRICITY FALTERSAfghanistan s second-largest city struggles to keep the power on, even after the U.S. spent billions

KANDAHAR: Earlier thismonth, ice cream mogul Waisud-din Jamalya stopped by the cartof one of his street sellers.

Are all the ice packs cold?he asked. Let me see. It s melt-ed. The boy assured him theywere still frozen, but Jamalya hasto stay vigilant. Keeping thingscold is a challenge in Afghanistan ssecond-largest city, where summertemperatures routinely rise above100 degrees. It s made all the hard-er now that the power is runningout. Jamalya once employed 300people and his factory produced10,000 cartons of ice cream a day.Now, he s had to lay off 100 work-ers and thinks he may have toshutter his factory in two or threemonths. Providing electricity was

a key strategy of the Americansin Kandahar, the seat of the Tali-ban government that was oustedin late 2001. Electricity is key toa developing the economy. Elec-tricity is key to industry, JohnSopko, the Special Inspector Gen-eral of Afghanistan Reconstruc-tion, told America Tonight. InKandahar, in particular, becausethat was a hotbed of terrorist ac-tivity, we wanted to win over the

hearts and minds of the people.Four years ago, Jamalya decidedgo into ice cream, because he knewhis construction work would dryup when U.S. forces left in 2014.He wanted to employ as manyAfghans as possible and the tim-ing seemed right. The Americanshad just spent $7.8 million build-ing the Shurandam Industrial Parkin Kandahar province, with apower station across the street.Times were good. In the industri-al park, Jamalya s factory had elec-tricity day and night, and the com-pany was profitable within twoyears. Then, the Americans left,taking their fuel subsidies withthem. When Americans firstcame there was lots of money andthe people here didn t have mon-ey, there were no expectations,Jamalya said. Then, money cameand people had big expectations.Now, there is no money, but peo-ple still want the same standardof living. Rasoul Balkhi, the di-rector of power for KandaharProvinceAmerica Tonight TheU.S. installed diesel generators,which are too expensive for theAfghans to run. At first the Amer-icans paid for all the fuel, and busi-nesses in the industrial park hadfull-time power. But after mostU.S. forces left, the aid budgetdwindled and so did U.S.-subsi-dized fuel. At another diesel powerplant built with U.S. funds acrosstown, the generators are silent.

Last year, USAID provided300,000 liters of diesel fuel to oneof Kandahar s three diesel plants,according to Rasoul Balkhi, thedirector of power for the prov-ince. This year, he said, they vereceived nothing. Only onebunch of fuel came in last year,nine, ten, months ago, he said.We burned [it], we used [it] and

then stop and no more fuel. Run-ning that one plant at full capaci-

ty would give the people of Kan-dahar eight hours of electricity aday. (They currently get aboutfour, in two two-hour blocks.) Butpower officials say it just doesn tmake financial sense. At the ratesthey charge, they can only cover10 percent of the cost of fuel. Theproblem with the diesel genera-tors is that they are very expen-sive and not sustainable, Sopkosaid. Now, the lights are going togo off in Kandahar, because theAfghans can no longer afford tokeep the generators operating.The Afghan government providesthe Shurandam Industrial Parkwith eight hours of electricity aday. That s more power than mostplaces in Kandahar, but Jamalyasays it s not enough to keep hisice cream cold and his machineryrunning. When the city doesn tsupply power, Jamalya has to usehis own generators. Since March,fuel has cost him $240,000. Work-ers at the Kajaki power plantstruggle to provide consistentpower, as much of the equipmentis from the Cold War-era and thepower lines run through districtsand towns where the Taliban isfighting the government.AmericaTonight We are still talking withthe government about how tosolve the electricity problem,Jamalya said. They keep prom-ising to fix it, to find a way to getmore power for Kandahar. So far,we are using our own money to

continue working here. We don twant to stop working. Poor die-sel fuel and short circuits alongKandahar s aging power grid meanthe power often goes off and onwith little notice, suddenly shut-ting the machines down and oftencorrupting the software that runsthem. That means a lot of thrown-away ice cream. On the day wevisited his plant, the electricitycoming from the city was inter-

mittent, causing one of the icecream manufacturing machines tobreak down. The engineers fran-tically tried to get all the partsworking again. The factory s chiefengineer Darwish, who like manyAfghans goes by only one name,says all the factory s problemscome down to power. The UnitedStates original idea to power Kan-dahar was to upgrade the KajakiDam and power plant in neigh-boring Helmand province. Built bythe U.S. in the 1970s at the heightof the Cold War, much of theequipment is from that era. Andthe 34 megawatts of power it gen-erates with its two giant turbinesis only about a third of what Kan-dahar needs. Parts of the Kajikidam that were neverassembled.America Tonight TheAfghan government also only getsabout a half of that electricity. Theother half, as well as half the rev-enues, are siphoned away by theTaliban. And because the powerlines run through districts andtowns where the Taliban is fight-ing the government, the power isoften disrupted. In 2006, a con-voy brought the pieces of a thirdturbine, which would generate 15megawatts of power. The partsarrived, and for seven years, theysat rusting in a yard near the plant.A number of Americans died

moving the turbine up this wind-ing one lane road, said Sopko, theinspector general. And a numberof brave soldiers died and a lot ofcontractors got hurt and killeddoing that. And it s still not fin-ished and the answer is nobodyhas been held accountable. Thethird turbine is finally being in-stalled, but it s not expected tostart generating electricity untilnext year. That s a long time to berunning on generators.

There s another closer dam,Dahla, where a power plant couldbe installed, but the governmentcan t afford it, said the power di-rector. Balkhi said the electricitycompany is contemplating a large-scale solar plant, but that wouldalso be expensive to install.There s no current plan to build asolar farm.

Jamalya says solar powerisn t an option for his ice creamfactory, because it wouldn t pro-vide enough power. So, he has nochoice but to wait for the govern-ment to come up with a solution.He believes the Americans misseda golden opportunity to help hiscountry. By all estimates, the U.S.power project to win hearts andminds in Kandahar has failed.

When Americans came theypromised us many things to solveour problems, but unfortunatelybut they had their own aims andgoals and they deceived us, Ja-malya said. The money theyspent on generators and fuel, wecould have rebuilt Kajaki Damtwice.

(Al-Jazeera)

Rasoul Balkhi, the directorof power for KandaharProvinceAmerica Tonight

Parts of the Kajiki dam that were never assembled.America Tonight

Men in Afghanistan are being urgedto speak out against gender ine-quality in a country often rankedone of the most dangerous placesin the world for women.

The HeForShe movement, setup by UN Women Goodwill Am-bassador Emma Watson, waslaunched in Afghanistan last weekand hopes to encourage men toplay a more prominent role in thefight for women's rights.

Although the Taliban's violentrule officially ended more than adecade ago, the group's violent,fundamentalist interpretation ofIslamic law continues to influencethe lives of women across thecountry, reports Take Part maga-zine. History of women's rights

Afghanistan had a relativelyprogressive attitude towardswomen and equality before theSoviet invasion and the subsequentemergence of the Taliban. Afghanwomen were first given the vote in

1919 only a year after women inBritain and the country's firstconstitution in 1923 guaranteedequal rights for both men andwomen. The strict dress code en-forced in much of modern-day Af-ghanistan was non-existent formuch of the 20th century, and evenfemale members of the royal fam-ily appeared in public withoutveils.

"As a girl, I remember mymother wearing miniskirts and tak-ing us to the cinema [and] my auntwent to university," says Amnes-ty International researcher HoriaMosadiq, who was a young girlliving in Kabul when Russia invad-ed Afghanistan in 1979.

Under the TalibanWhen the Taliban came to

power in 1996, they enforced theirown strict interpretation of ShariaLaw, which disproportionately af-fected women and girls. All of thefreedoms they had enjoyed were

stripped away and they were ex-cluded from large parts of every-day life. "Women were essential-ly invisible in public life, impris-oned in their home," says Amnes-ty.

They were banned from goingto school, having a job, leaving thehome without a male relative andgetting involved in politics. Wom-en and girls were ordered to coverup with full body veils that cov-ered even their eyes, and were for-bidden from wearing makeup andbeauty products. The punish-ments for disobedience were se-vere and often fatal; floggings, ston-ing and rape were commonplace.

Post-TalibanAfter the US-led invasion in

2001, a number of steps towardsgender equality were slowly madein Afghanistan. Women's rightswere enshrined in a new constitu-tion in 2003 and in 2009 Afghani-stan adopted the Elimination of Vi-olence Against Women (EVAW)law. However, enforcement was

weak and a string of physical as-saults against high-profile womenin 2013 highlighted the dangers ac-tivists and women continue to face,says Human Rights Watch. Al-though girls were allowed to re-turn to school and women wereable to participate in politics, manyof these freedoms were only af-forded to those living in urban ar-eas. In 2011, Afghanistan wasnamed the most dangerous coun-try in the world to be a woman.

New governmentWhen Ashraf Ghani became

president last year, his wife Rulaquickly carved out her role as achampion for women's rights butremains reluctant to call herself afeminist. "I have a very mild ap-proach to things," she said. "Itdoesn't mean that my commit-ments are not strong."

But there are growing fearsabout her husband's apparent will-ingness to engage in peace talkswith the Taliban. "We need to findsolutions that include them," she

told the Washington Post recent-ly. But, she said: "The women oftoday will not kneel in front of theTaliban," she said. "We can make[women] even stronger and thenthe question will be moot total-ly moot."

Despite Ghani's efforts andthe work of a growing movementof activists, violence against wom-en in the country is still rife. Earli-er this year, a young Afghan wom-an called Farkhunda was brutallymurdered and her body set on fireand thrown into a river by an an-gry mob of men who wrongly ac-cused her of burning pages of theKoran.

"There is a lot to be done be-fore the equality of political rhet-oric becomes an everyday realityfor women in Afghanistan," saysAmnesty.

For further concise, balancedcomment and analysis on theweek's news, try The Week maga-zine. Subscribe today and get 6 is-sues completely free.

They were banned from going to school, having a job, leavingthe home without a male relative and getting involved inpolitics. Women and girls were ordered to cover up with fullbody veils that covered even their eyes, and were forbiddenfrom wearing makeup and beauty products. The punishmentsfor disobedience were severe and often fatal; floggings,stoning and rape were commonplace.

AFGHANISTAN TIMES


Air Services

Hotels

Exchange Rate

EMERGENCY

CALLS

100 - 119

Hospitals

Banks

Ariana

FMIC HospitalBehind Kabul Medical

University:

0202500200-+93793275595

Rabia-i-Balkhi Hospital

Pule Bagh-e- Umomi

070263672

Khairkhana Hospital

0799-321007

2401352

Wazir Akbar Khan

Hospital

2301741, 2301743

Da Afghanistan Bank

2100302, 2100303

Kabul Bank

222666, 070285285

Azizi Bank

0799 700900

Pashtany Bank

2102908, 2103868

020-2100270

Indira Gandhi Children

Hospital, Wazir Akbar

Khan, Kabul 2301372

Ibn-e- Seena

Pul-e-Artan, Kabul

2100359

Ali Abad

Shahrara, Kabul

2100439

Malalai Maternity

Hospital

2201377/ 2301743

Safi Landmark

SERENA

New Rumi Restaurant

020-2203131

0776351347

0799654000

One US$ = 60.63Afs

One Pound Sterling= 94.21Afs

One Euro =68.11Afs

1000 Pak Rs = 572Afs

One US$ =60.83 Afs

One Pound Sterling=95.01Afs

One Euro= 68.71 Afs

1000 Pak Rs= 589Afs

Purchase:

Police

Kam Air0799974422

Safi Airways

020 22 22 222

Sale:

Internet ServicesUA Telecom

0796701701 / 0796702702

Director and Deputy ofKabul Bank clearancedepartment arrestedThe Director and Deputy of theKabul Bank's Clearance Depart-ment were arrested by NationalDirectorate of Security (NDS) andlaw enforcement personnel thisweek. They are charged with re-ceiving bribes from a debtor of theformer Kabul Bank.

"Two of the senior officials ofthe Kabul Bank Clearance Depart-ment have been arrested by NDSwhile taking a $100,000 USDbribe," Anti-Corruption Prosecu-tion Office Chair Said AlamIshaqzai said on Tuesday. "Theiridentity is not disclosed and willsoon be referred to the court," headded. Although prosecutors de-clined to share the names of theofficials being charged, sourcesclose to the issue, who spoke withTOLOnews on condition of ano-nymity, have identified KabirKhan, the Director of the Clear-ance Department, and MuhammadAziz, his deputy. Experts haveexpressed concerns in response tothe news, suggesting that corrup-tion in the bank's clearance pro-cess would further undermine pub-lic trust in the financial sector."Such actions question the clear-ance process, and in order to en-

sure transparency audit and con-trol measures must be taken," uni-versity professor NasrullahStanekzai told TOLOnews.

"What guarantee is there thatsuch actions have not already tak-en place during the clearance?"Meanwhile, President Ashraf

KABUL: The United NationsHigh Commissioner for Refugees,Ant nio Guterres expressed hisappreciation and solidarity withthe government and people ofPakistan for having generouslyhosted the world s largest pro-tracted refugee population forover three decades, in line withIslamic values of hospitality andgenerosity. Guterres expressedthese views in his meetings withthe top officials here in Peshawaron Tuesday, as part of his Ra-madan Solidarity mission to thecountry, a statement said.

Guterres was accompanied bythe federal Minister of States andFrontier Regions, Lt. Gen. AbdulQadir Baloch. UNHCR s chiefappreciated the efforts of theKhyber Pakhtunkhwa govern-ment for hosting around a millionof the total registered 1.5 millionAfghan refugees in the countryand for ensuring access of regis-tered refugees to basic services(health, education), upholding theinternational norms and obliga-tions. Guterres s visit is signifi-cant in view of the positivelyevolving regional environment andimproving bilateral relations be-tween Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Ghani, who re-opened the KabulBank case in late 2014, has saidthat all debtors to the bank mustpayback what they owe within aweek or be referred to the Attor-ney General's office and bannedfrom exiting the country. "The pres-ident has ordered that if the debt-ors of Kabul Bank do not returntheir loans by the end of this week,then they will be referred to theAttorney General's office,"Ishaqzai said. According to offi-cials, 18 individuals and institu-tions constitute debtors of thebank. They include: Abdul GhafarDawy, Mahmood Karzai, HaseenFaheem, Gulbahar Habeebi, HajiMuhammad Tahir Zahir, GhulamDawood, Ghulam Farooq, Sofi Ne-sar, Shukrullah Shukran, Hayatul-lah Kookcha, Akhtar Muhammad,Halak Jan, Muhammad Tahir, Hair-atan Oil, Kabul Oil, Pamir Airlines,Gulbahar Tower, Shaheen MoneyExchange, Ariana Steel, ZahirGroup and Gas Group. Of them,only Mahmood Karzai, GulbaharHabibi and Ghafar Dawy havepublicly committed to paying backtheir debt. The assets of the 18individuals and institutions havebeen frozen inside and outside Af-

ghanistan.The Clearance Committee of

the Kabul Bank has reported thatcourts in the United Arab Emir-ates have decided to seize the prop-erties of debtors and return it themthe government of Afghanistan.(TOLONews)

Costs ofwar projectreleases newreports onAfghanistan,PakistanAfghan security forces, like theirfellow citizens more generally, donot view the US-led war in Af-ghanistan as "their war."

This is a primary policy-rele-vant conclusion reached in one oftwo new reports issued today bythe Costs of War Project atBrown's University's Watson In-stitute for International and Pub-lic Affairs.

"Not Their War to Fight: TheAfghan Police, Families of theirDead and the American War," byHarvard University Visiting Assis-tant Professor Anila Daulatzai,draws on four years of anthropo-logic fieldwork in Kabul and else-where in Afghanistan, and on pollsby the Asia Foundation, Gallupand others to assess perspectivestoward the war. Among the find-ings: members of the Afghan Na-tional Police Force (ANP) do notsee the war as their own; they par-ticipate as a means of employmentto make a living and support fam-ily members, particularly given thelack of economic opportunitiesafter 35 years of armed conflict andforeign occupation. As Daulatzaiexplains, the ANP, their familiesand Afghans more broadly "do notsee themselves as responsible forreversing the mayhem the US isleaving behind."

In a separate study, "BombingPakistan: How Colonial LegacySustains American Drones," jour-nalist and Columbia UniversityPhD candidate Madiha Tahir in-vestigates the decade-long USdrone strikes over the Pakistaniborderlands, known as FederallyAdministered Tribal Areas(FATA), or tribal areas. In doingso, Tahir examines the colonial-eralegacy that has led to the now ac-ceptable practice of punishing anentire group based on the actionsof one or a few people living with-in externally imposed borders.

The paper cites the thousandsof Hellfire missiles that have de-stroyed people and homes in theregion, noting that residents of thetribal areas also live with violenceby opposition forces, such as thePakistani Taliban as well as thePakistani government. Accordingto Tahir, common wisdom oftencited by Western journalists andpolicy makers when referring tothe tribal areas is that they are"lawless," implicitly justifying theconstant bombardment to whichresidents are subject. Tahir arguesthat, in fact, the region has longbeen rigidly organized by Britishand later, Pakistani law, setting thestage for drone strikes as a form ofcollective punishment against res-idents.

Tahir offers examples to illus-trate that the US drone program inthe tribal areas is not guided byinternational law. Rather, it is root-ed in colonial policies long pre-dat-ing the use of drones. She writes:"...how American drone attacks areconducted for all the vauntedtechnical precision and capabilitiesof armed drones is bound up withan old colonial game of sorting peo-ple into those who are 'tribal' andthose who are marked out as prop-er modern citizens." In doing so,Tahir emphasizes that US policy-makers and journalists who arguethat drones operate based on a logicof precision are therefore misguid-ed, and that, in fact, drones have"license not to distinguish betweenanyone" in the region.

"These papers underscorewhat we already know: that thereare significant and enduring costsof war beyond the staggering fi-nancial costs we have document-ed," said Catherine Lutz, BrownUniversity Professor and co-direc-tor of the project. "These findingsare valuable for lawmakers as theyconsider the policy and resourceallocation decisions they must con-tinue to make in regard to the warsin Afghanistan and Pakistan."

The High Commissioner (HC)during his day-long engagementsin Peshawar visited the UNHCR sVoluntary Repatriation Centre inChamkani, and met with refugeefamilies repatriating to Afghani-stan. Talking to them the HC said:Nothing is as gratifying as going

back to one s own roots and moth-erland after so many years in ex-ile. He appreciated the KP gov-ernment s support for the volun-tary repatriation programme,which is gaining momentum, andunderlined the need to continueensuring voluntariness of return,in safety and dignity. This year,so far, 42,000 Afghan refugeeshave voluntary repatriated underthe UNHCR assisted voluntaryrepatriation programme, of which22,000 went from the KP prov-ince. In the context of the post 16December situation and the im-plementation of the National Ac-tion Plan (NAP), the HC reas-sured the provincial governmentthat UNHCR shares the legitimateconcern of state to ensure thatasylum is not misused, by thosesupporting or committing terror-ist acts. No refugee is above thelaw of the host country. Howev-er, there needs to be a balance

with the need to respect the rightsof registered refugees. The HighCommissioner appreciated theefforts of Pakistan to ensure thatregistered Afghan refugees are notsubject to harassment.

The HC and his delegationalso visited Turkmen refugee vil-lage, where he met with Afghancarpet weavers and spent sometime with them, inquiring abouttheir wellbeing and the problemsthey confront. Talking to Afghanrefugee elders, Minister Balochsaid: Refugees are resourcefulpeople and more should be doneto empower them so they couldplay positive role for the devel-opment and reconstruction of Af-ghanistan. During his day-longvisit to Peshawar, Mr. Guterreswas accompanied by the federalMinister of States and FrontierRegions, Lt. Gen. Abdul QadirBaloch; UNHCR Director for AsiaBureau, Ms. Daisy Dell; UNH-CR Representative in Pakistan, In-drika Ratwatte and Chief Com-missioner Afghan refugees Dr.Imran Zeb Khan; Provincial com-missioner Afghan refugees WaqarMaroof and Head of UNHCRPeshawar, Jacques Franquin.(Pajhwok)

As the result of a three-year part-nership, the United Nations Of-fice on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)and the Afghan Government todaylaunched the first-ever interactiveonline system for all counter-nar-cotics-related data in the country.

During a ceremony in Kabul,the Afghan Minister of CounterNarcotics, Mr. Salamat Azimi, andUNODC s regional representative,Mr. Andrey Avetisyan, unveiledthe Afghanistan Drug ReportingSystem. In attendance were highranking Government officials andthe international community.

Following the Government sannouncement of a National Mo-bilization Against Narcotics tomark the upcoming InternationalDay Against Drug Abuse and Illic-it Trafficking, commemorated an-nually on 26 June, the Ministrycalled the new system a key com-ponent of its leadership and coor-dination role in countering drugs.

The online tool compiles veri-fied data by sector and locationfrom the nine entities involved incounter-narcotics related initiatives

namely the Afghan Ministries of

Justice, Interior, Public Health,Rural Rehabilitation and Develop-ment, Agriculture, Irrigation andLivestock, and the Attorney Gen-eral's Office together with inter-national partners, including theBureau of International Law En-forcement and UNODC.

Through the system, stake-holders can access the most cur-rent data on all available narcotics-related indicators in Afghanistan,including eradication, cultivation,drug price, seizures and imprison-ment. With the ability to be usedin trend analysis, policy develop-ment and evaluation, it becomes akey tool for policy makers, the in-ternational community and allthose involved in countering nar-cotics in Afghanistan. There is alsoscope to expand the system as re-quired going forward.

The reporting system is thelatest collaborative document together with the Annual OpiumSurvey and the Afghanistan DrugReport from the research capac-ity-building partnership betweenthe Afghan Government and UN-ODC.

Some of Afghanistan s earliest European explorers described Kabul as paradise because of thesound of birds singing in local gardens. Here, a man is selling finches at a market. (RFE)

First-ever comprehensiveonline system to counternarcotics launched

The Director of the High Officeof Anti-Corruption, Said GhulamHussain Fakhri, has indicated thathis office will not rest at the pub-lic release of files exposing cor-ruption in the Ministry of UrbanDevelopment (MoUD). On Tues-day, he called for a full and thor-ough investigation to indict themain perpetrators. The MoUDcorruption case has become thelargest and most publicized cor-ruption scandal for the Afghangovernment since the Kabul Bankcase. The claims center on six se-nior officials in the ministry whoare accused of embezzling millionsof dollars in funds meant for min-istry projects. The Attorney Gen-eral s office has taken up the case

Anti-corruption advocatesseek a thorough probe into MoUDCORRUPTION SCANDAL

and is expected to pursue prose-cutions. Chief Executive Abdullahhas assured that justice will beserved and an example made for allother government employees whenit comes to the repercussions ofcorruption. There is hope that,by addressing these cases, corrup-tion will be prevented somethingthat was ignored over the past 13years, he said. However, Mr. Fa-khri s comments on Tuesday ex-pose the full extent of skepticismthat exists, even among officials,when it comes to the government sability - or even willingness - tocompletely follow through andpunish those involved in corrup-tion. The announcement of thesefiles is not enough, he said. In-

vestigative work needs to be doneregarding the main perpetrators ofthis case. As with the Kabul Bankcase, some commentators have ex-pressed doubts about the intentionsand commitment of the govern-ment. One of our concerns is thatthis case might become political,and the main perpetrators of thecase might be released, MP AbdulQader Zazay said. Corruption re-mains one of the biggest weakness-es facing rule of law in Afghani-stan. Despite making good gover-nance a top priority since takingoffice, President Ashraf Ghani andChief Executive Abdullah Abdul-lah still face widespread corruptionamong both local and high-rankingleaders. (TOLONews)

One of our concerns is that this case might become political, and the main perpe-trators of the case might be released, MP Abdul Qader Zazay said.

KABUL: Provincial health de-partment authorities laid down thefoundation stone for constructionof new 50-bed hospital inNuristan province. In a pressstatement issued here, NuristanProvincial Press office said thatthe hospital would be equippedwith modern-day facilities. The

Foundation stone ofhospital laid in Nuristan

AT News Report hospital will provide healthcare services, facilitate lab-oratories and pharmaceutical services for needy peopleof the province. The hospital will be constructed with-in next 30 months, costing Afs186 million. The fundswould be provided by the Ministry of Public Healthfrom its developmental budget, the statement said.

Nuristan is one of the most insecure provinces ineastern Afghanistan, where people are deprived of dif-ferent social services including health facilities. There-fore, the hospital would help the locals in accessinghealth services without leaving for other provinces.

AFGHANISTAN TIMESTHURSDAY . JUNE 25, 2015

ISLAMABAD: Prime MinisterNawaz Sharif said on Wednesday theStrategic Plans Division (SPD) hasbeen playing an important role instrengthening the country’s defencecapabilities. “SPD has been playingan important role in strengthening Pa-kistan’s defense capabilities,” thepremier said during a meeting withthe newly-appointed DG StrategicPlans Division Lt Gen Mazhar Jamilat the PM House. According to the

PM House, the two discussedmatters relating to Pakistan’s nu-clear, missile and space pro-grammes. Further, the premier ex-pressed confidence in the newly-appointed SPD director general.“Lt Gen Mazhar Jamil thanked thegovernment for reposing confi-dence in his abilities for this im-portant assignment and assured theprime minister that he will performduties to the best of his abilities.

US hopes India,Pakistan willresolve issueson ownWASHINGTON: Expressing thehope that Pakistan would be a re-sponsible stakeholder on securityissues, in particular the nuclear is-sue, the US has said that NewDelhi and Islamabad need to workon issues between them peaceablyon their own.

US secretary of state JohnKerry has talked "about his con-cerns about tensions between In-dia and Pakistan right now," aboutvarious issues state departmentspokesman John Kirby recalledTuesday in response to a questionat his daily press briefing.

Kerry has also talked about"our continued belief that bothsides need to work these issues outpeaceably and on their own," hesaid.

Asked if Pakistan's nuclearprogramme is safe from terroristhands in the context of former Pa-kistan President Pervez Mushar-aff's reported threat that Islama-bad may use the nuclear weaponagainst India, Kirby said: "I'm cer-tainly not going to talk about in-telligence issues here."

"But our expectation contin-ues to be that Pakistan will be aresponsible stakeholder on securi-

ty issues, in particular the nuclearissue," he said.

In response to a questionabout child labour and child traf-ficking in India, China and severalother countries, Kirby said: "Ob-viously, this is a concern that wehave around the world - the issueof child labor and certainly humantrafficking.

"It's something that we areconstantly talking to our friendsand partners about. It's a signifi-cant concern," he said.

"Our positions, our stance onthem have not changed, and we'regoing to continue to work this justas hard as we can." At the WhiteHouse too, spokesman Josh Ear-nest told reporters in response toa question about child labour thatas a general matter, PresidentBarack Obama "believes stronglythat we need to be serious aboutcombating child trafficking." " Andthe administration has devoted sig-nificant time and consideration, andeven resources, to internationalefforts to try to fight human traf-ficking." "This is something thatthe President has talked about fre-quently, not just with his nationalsecurity staff, but in his conversa-tions with other world leaders, andeven in the context of internation-al meetings at the United Nations,"Earnest said.

Bangladesh's border guard said onMonday it turned down a propos-al it said Myanmar had made toreturn a captured officer if Dhakaalso took in some 600 illegal mi-grants from a people traffickingship intercepted by the Myanmarnavy.

Bangladesh's Foreign Ministryhas already summoned the Myan-mar ambassador in Dhaka andlodged a strong protest to ask forthe immediate release of AbdurRazzak.

Razzak was seized and anoth-er Bangladeshi guard was wound-ed by Myanmar forces on June 17

after the two sides exchanged gun-fire while chasing drug smugglerson the Naff River separating thetwo countries.

Border Guard Bangladesh bat-talion commanding officer Lieuten-ant Colonel Mohammad Abu JarAl Jahid said the countries hadagreed last year that any soldiersstraying across the border shouldbe handed back after senior offic-ers held a so-called "flag meeting"at the frontier.

But on this occasion, he said,Myanmar wanted to link the han-dover to the return of the migrants.Jahid said his counterpart, the com-

mander in Border Guard Police inMaungdaw, Myanmar, had madethe proposal.

"We have rejected the propos-al as this can not be linked withtrafficking victims," Jahid toldReuters. "Instead, we proposed aflag meeting to settle the issues."

Officials at Myanmar's em-bassy in Dhaka and at the ambas-sador's residence were not imme-diately available for comment.

Jahid said Myanmar wantedBangladesh to identify around 600of the 727 migrants picked up fromthe ship intercepted by the My-anmar navy on May 29 as Bang-

ladeshi nationals and take themback as part of the deal.

Thousands of people, many ofthem Bangladeshi or Muslim Ro-hingya from Myanmar, have tak-en to the sea in recent months indangerously crowded boats run bypeople-traffickers, heading southtowards other southeast Asiancountries.

Previously, Myanmar has saidnearly all of them were Bang-ladeshis seeking better economicprospects, rather than Rohingya,a group who complain of severediscrimination and mistreatment inMyanmar.

UK police will visit Islamabadto interrogate Imran Farooqmuder suspects: NisarISLAMABAD: The London Met-ropolitan police has been grantedaccess to suspects linked to themurder of Dr Imran Farooq, Inte-rior Minister Chaudhry Nisar AliKhan said .

“The Metropolitan Police of-ficials will be visiting Islamabad inthe coming week to question oneof the accused but it is still unde-cided whether the investigation willbe direct or indirect,” he said whileaddressing a press briefing in thecapital.

Imran Farooq, 50, a foundingmember of the Muttahida QaumiMovement (MQM) party, wasstabbed and beaten to death inEdgware in northwest London ashe returned home from work inSeptember 2010.

Nisar said Pakistan would helpthe British police in a transparentinvestigation.

“We will ensure proper inves-tigation without any prejudice,without any favour,” he told re-porters.

The suspects were arrestedlast week in Balochistan near theAfghan border. ”The suspects are

in custody of the Frontier Corpsin Quetta. We will bring them toIslamabad and assist the Britishpolice in the investigations,” theminister said.

Announcing the arrest lastweek of Khalid Shamim andMohsin Ali, the governmenttermed it a breakthrough in thecase.British detectives said lastMay they want to question Aliand another man, Muhammad Ka-shif Khan Kamran, about the at-tack. Both were in Britain in theperiod leading up to it and lefthours afterwards.

The interior minister also in-formed the media that two accusedwere in Quetta under the custodyof Frontier Corps (FC) and addedthat the next step of the govern-ment will be to bring all the ac-cused to Islamabad so that the in-vestigation could be carriedout.“Though we do not have anyextradition treaty with the UKgovernment but we did receive anapplication from the British teamfor legal help in the case,” saidNisar and added, “We have goodrelations with the UK government

and being a signatory country inthe UN, it is our responsibility tocooperate with the UK as per in-ternational agreements”.

The interior minister said timeand again the leadership of theMuttahida Qaumi Movement(MQM) had expressed their de-sire to bring those involved in Im-ran Farooq’s murder, and that thecase shouldn’t be perceived asagainst the party.

“Please don’t treat it asMQM-specific,” said Nisar.

Nisar once again vowed tobring the killers of Dr Imran Fa-rooq to justice and said all the ac-cused were put in detention underATA, clarifying that no action willbe taken under pressure.

On June 18, the Frontier Corpsarrested two suspects reportedlyinvolved in MQM leader ImranFarooq’s murder from the Pakistan,Afghanistan border town of Cha-man. “The men identified as Kha-lid Shamim and Mohsin Ali werearrested on a tip-off,” a FCspokesperson said, adding that themen belong to a political partybased in Karachi.

US says Sri Lanka will be a critical partnerThe United States (US) says as itlooks advance its interests acrossthe Indo-Pacific, Sri Lanka will bea critical partner.

Atul Keshap, the nominee forUS Ambassador to Sri Lanka andthe Maldives, told the US SenateForeign Relations Committee thatin Sri Lanka, the primary interestof the US is to help the peoplesucceed as a prosperous, unified,reconciled, peaceful, and democrat-

ic nation.Keshap noted that at the be-

ginning of this year, the people ofSouth Asia’s oldest democracycourageously chose a new path ofhope and renewal. He says sinceJanuary, Sri Lanka has madeprogress on challenging issues,from fighting corruption and me-dia censorship, to beginning thelong process of healing after de-cades of war. “We want to help

the Sri Lankan people strengthendemocracy, civil society, and hu-man rights, including media free-dom and freedom of religion. Wewant to help build a lasting peaceand fellowship among Sri Lanka’sethnic and religious communities,including credible justice, account-ability and reconciliation that canfacilitate closure for those who suf-fered and lost loved ones duringthe war. It is important to get this

right, and the UN and internation-al community can lend useful in-sight to the efforts of the Sri Lan-kan people,” he said. Economical-ly, Keshap said the U.S. is Sri Lan-ka’s largest export market and whiletrade volume is relatively low, thereis great potential to expand thepartnership. In the security realm,he said US de-mining efforts havehelped farmers return to oncewar-ravaged land.

Bangladesh toreceive 1,100MW of powerfrom Indianext yearAGARTALA: Electricity-starvedBangladesh will begin receiving 100MW of power from Tripura fromearly January. This will be in addi-tion to the 500 MW it already re-ceives from West Bengal and a likeamount that is on the cards fromthe state - for a total of 1,100 MW- as the two countries enter a newphase of bilateral cooperation forregional benefit. The power fromTripura will flow with the com-pletion of 65 transmission towersin the northeastern state by De-cember-end, a minister said.PrimeMinister Narendra Modi discussedthe power supply from Tripurawith his Bangladesh counterpart,Sheikh Hasina, during his visit toDhaka on June 6-7. Modi has de-clared that India would enhance thesupply of power to Bangladeshfrom the existing 500 MW to 1,100MW. The union government-owned Power Grid Corporation ofIndia (PGCIL) "has already com-pleted 20 of the 65 transmissiontowers in southern and westernTripura. "The remaining 45 trans-mission towers and related workswould be completed by Decem-ber," Tripura Power MinisterManik Dey told IANS after hold-ing meetings with PGCIL engi-neers and officials. "I have askedthe PGCIL authorities to expeditethe works to fulfil our commit-ment given to Bangladesh aboutsupplying 100 MW of power," headded. The minister said PGCILwould erect around 20 km of trans-mission lines in Tripura, while thePower Grid Company of Bang-ladesh (PGCB) would lay 27 kmof transmission line on its side.Both the prime ministers welcomedthe steps being taken to augmentsupply of power through Baha-rampur in West Bengal and Bhera-mara in Bangladesh, grid inter-con-nection from 500 MW to 1,000MW and to operationalise the sup-ply of 100 MW from southernTripura's Palatana power plant toBangladesh.

Modi voices concerns on China’s move to blockIndia’s attempt at UN Security Council seatNEW DELHI: Prime MinisterNarendra Modi has "communicat-ed" to China's leadership India'sconcerns over a decision by Beijingto block New Delhi's attempts toget the UN to slap sanctions onPakistan for the release of Mum-bai attacks accused Zakiur RehmanLakhvi, senior officials said.

China's decision came twodays after New Delhi sent an un-precedented troop of senior poli-ticians - including two top leadersfrom Arunachal Pradesh - to greetthe Dalai Lama on his 80th birth-day on Sunday.

Two Union ministers - KirenRijiju, who is from Arunachal, andMahesh Sharma - and Nabam Tuki,the chief minister of the north-east-ernstate, were a part of the delega-tion of politicians who attendedthe celebrations in Dharamsala.

China claims Arunachal be-longs to it, and calls the Dalai Lamaa "secessionist," while for India,Pakistan's handling of Lakhvi's trialrepresents a touchstone of Islam-

abad's commitment to act againstterror groups.

"In the case of China, this mat-ter has been taken up at the high-est political level," foreign minis-try spokesperson Vikas Swarupsaid in a statement this evening."We also raised this bilaterally withthe other members of the (UNsanctions) committee."

Though Swarup did not offerdetails, "highest political level" isdiplomatic jargon for the PrimeMinister. Officials, however, sug-gested Modi may have sent hiscommunication through the Indi-an mission in Beijing, and not in atelephone call to Chinese PremierLi Keqiang.

China, which has for the pastfour days been occupied with oneof the nation's biggest festivals, theDragon Boat festival, has not pub-licly commented on either its UNdecision or the Dalai Lama's birth-day celebrations.

India's permanent representa-tive to the UN, Asoke Mukherjee,

had earlier this month written tothe chair of the UN SanctionsCommittee on al Qaida and "asso-ciated individuals and entities,"New Zealand's Gerard van Bohe-men, seeking an urgent meeting.

Lakhvi, a designated terroristunder UN resolution 1267 that thesanctions committee was set upto monitor, was released from jailin April by a Pakistan court, a de-cision that India at the time pro-tested as a pointer to Islamabad'slack of sincerity in combating ter-rorism.

Mukherjee sought the meetingto seek a censure against Pakistan,citing as evidence the money usedfor Lakhvi's bail, because all finan-cial assets and bank accounts ofUN designated terrorists are re-quired to be frozen by member-states. The sanctions committeeconsists of all 15 members of theUN Security Council - the fivepermanent members and 10 non-permanent members. India is not amember at present.

But China blocked a discus-sion on India's proposal, arguingNew Delhi had provided insuffi-cient information to examine thecase.

Indian officials said today thatChina's decision represented anabout-turn on a commitment thetwo nations made to each otherduring Modi's visit last month.Modi, the officials said, had spe-cifically asked China for supportin combating "all" terrorism.

In the joint statement issuedby Modi and Li after their meetingin Beijing, the countries agreed torespect each other's "sensitivities,"a senior Indian official said.

But Chinese officials indicat-ed that Beijing too could suggestthat New Delhi had breached thisshared commitment. Traditional-ly, ministers from the state of Hi-machal Pradesh visit Dharamsalaon the occasion of the Dalai La-ma's birthday.

But on Sunday, Rijiju, the jun-ior home minister, and Sharma, the

tourism minister, attended the Ti-betan leader's birthday celebra-tions, as did Tuki. The decision tosend Rijiju, an Arunachal MP,andthe state's chief minister is beingread by China as a loaded messagefrom India that it will not hesitateto underscore to Beijing its con-trol of the north-eastern state both

nations claim.China has earlier protested vis-

its by the Dalai Lama to Tawangin Arunachal, a part of the state itspecifically insists on claiming. Ithas also objected to India's PrimeMinisters visiting Arunachal, in-cluding when Modi visited thestate earlier this year.

Int ’l partners willing to help Nepal: PMKATHMANDU: As the countryreadies for the International Con-ference on Nepal’s Reconstruction,Prime Minister Sushil Koirala onTuesday said the success of thedonors’ meet would largely dependon how Nepal performs as a na-tion by mobilising the funds andresources effectively. The government is organising theevent on Thursday to garner wid-er international support for reha-bilitation and reconstructionworks.

“The international partnersincluding India, China and the UShave already pledged to assist Ne-pal in the post-earthquake recov-ery works,” said Koirala, whilereceiving a cheque for Rs 44.31million from the Kantipur MediaGroup (KMG) for the Prime Min-ister Disaster Relief Fund, at Bal-uwatar on Tuesday.

The prime minister said thatin the aftermath of the devastatingearthquake of April 25 he held talkswith US President Barack Obama,Indian Prime Minister NarendraModi and Chinese leaders to seektheir assistance in Nepal’s recon-struction. “They were very con-cerned about Nepal and willing tooffer whatever help is required torecover from this crisis,” Koiralasaid.

KMG Chairman and Manag-ing Director Kailash Sirohiya hadhanded over the cheque to theprime minister. The amount wascollected through the KantipurNational Crisis Assistance Fund asa contribution to the relief and re-habilitation works for the earth-quake-affected people.

Prime Minister Koiralathanked the KMG for the initia-tive it had taken to help out the

earthquake victims. He assured thatthe amount collected in the PrimeMinister Disaster Fund will notbe misused.

“The money will be expresslyutilised for the purpose it was col-lected. I, personally, am seeing tothe mobilisation of the fund tomaintain transparency,” Koiralasaid.

He also informed the KMGdelegation that the tasks of consti-tution writing and post-disasterrecovery projects will take placesimultaneously.

“The process of constitutiondrafting has begun and I am com-mitted to concluding this task assoon as possible,” Koirala said. Headded that the 16-point agreementof June 8 among the major politi-cal parties have instilled the hopefor early promulgation of a newconstitution among the public.

Sri Lanka denies reports of buyingJF-17 Thunder jets from Pakistan

KARACHI: Sri Lanka has deniedreports of being the very first for-eign buyer of JF-17 Thunder fighterjets from Pakistan, according to areport published in Sri Lankannewspaper Daily Mirror.

The aircraft is state-of-the-artfighter air planes that are manu-factured jointly by China and Pa-kistan. The report in Daily Mirrorsaid there is no substance in thereports carried by foreign mediathat Sri Lanka is planning to be-come the first foreign buyer of JF-17 Thunder aircraft. Sri Lankan AirForce has still not made up its mindin this regard, it said. It quoted, SriLankan Air Force spokesperson,Wing Commander Gihan Senev-irathne as saying that ‘althoughboth Pakistan and China have in-

dicated the availability of the fighter jet and proposals have been sub-mitted on the availability of the aircrafts, SLA has not made any deci-sion on purchasing them.’

AFGHANISTAN TIMES


Iran's supreme leader also says inspection ofmilitary sites in his country are out of question.Iran's supreme leader has said thatthe US wants to destroy entirelythe country's nuclear industry,state TV has reported, pointing outthat international inspections ofIran's military sites are out of ques-tion. "America is after destroyingour nuclear industry altogether,"Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in hisaddress on Tuesday. "Our negoti-ators' aim is to safeguard Iran's in-tegrity ... and our nuclear achieve-ments during the talks."

Our negotiators' aim is to safe-guard Iran's integrity ... and ournuclear achievements during thetalks. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, su-preme leader Khamenei ruled outfreezing Iran's sensitive nuclearactivities for long period such as10 or 12 years, state TV quotedhim as saying. He has opposedinspections of military sites byforeigners in the past. The supremeleader's remarks come a day afterthe Iranian parliament passed a billbanning access for UN inspectorsto its military sites and scientists,potentially complicating chancesfor the deal as a self-imposed June30 deadline approaches. Bankingand other economic sanctions im-posed by the UN and the US mustbe lifted "immediately" if a nucle-ar deal is signed, he said, accordingto a transcript posted on his offi-cial website. On Monday Iran'sForeign Minister Mohammad Ja-vad Zarif, who is expected in Vi-enna in the coming days with oth-er foreign ministers, said in Lux-embourg that "all sides shouldavoid excessive demands”. "Thereis the possibility that we can fin-ish this by the deadline or a fewdays after the deadline," Zarif saidas he met his British, French andGerman counterparts, saying therewas sufficient "political commit-ment". More flexibility BritishForeign Secretary Philip Hammondurged "more flexibility" from Te-

hran, while Iran's lead negotiatorAbbas Araghchi said "progresshasn't been what we expected”. InApril, Iran and the "P5+1" - theUnited States, China, Russia, Brit-ain, France and Germany - agreedon the main outlines of the dealafter marathon talks in Lausanne,Switzerland. After two misseddeadlines in July and then Novem-ber last year, this built on an inter-im deal struck in Geneva in No-vember 2013 after Iranian Presi-dent Hassan Rouhani was elected.According to the Lausanne frame-work, Iran will downsize its nu-clear activities, slashing the num-ber of centrifuges enriching urani-um, which can be used in nuclearpower but also when highly puri-fied for a bomb. The powers hopethis will ensure Iran would need atleast a year - compared with a fewmonths in 2013 - to produce abomb's worth of material. TightUN inspections would give amplenotice of any such "breakout”. Inreturn, UN and Western sanctionsthat have caused Iran major eco-nomic pain would be progressive-ly lifted, although the six powersinsist they can be easily "snappedback" if Tehran violates the accord.Stumbling blocks After 12 yearsof rising tensions, Iran denies seek-ing atomic weapons, saying its

programme is for peaceful purpos-es such as meeting, through nucle-ar power, the energy needs of itsalmost 78 million people. Em-pire: Iran and the US - diplomaticenrichment After the Lausannebreakthrough, US PresidentBarack Obama hailed the "historicunderstanding" and said that ifcompleted, the deal would "makeour country, our allies and ourworld safer". There were celebra-tions on the streets of Tehran andRouhani promised on national tele-vision that the accord would opena "new page" in Iran's internation-al relations. However, two majorstumbling blocks need to be re-solved for the deal to reach frui-tion. A particular sticking point isthought to be the issue of closerinspections by the UN atomicwatchdog, potentially includingmilitary sites to probe past - andany future - suspicious activity."A robust agreement is one whichincludes an extensive verificationelement, including if necessary vis-its to military sites," French For-eign Minister Laurent Fabius saidSunday. Other tricky issues in-clude how UN sanctions might bereapplied, the reduction of Iran'suranium stockpile, and its futureresearch and development into newtypes of centrifuges.

Democratic presidential hopefulHillary Clinton decried theCharleston church massacre as anact of “racist terrorism” Tuesday,and called for the Confederate flagto be removed from the state cap-itol grounds.

Speaking at a church in Floris-sant, Missouri, Clinton said Amer-icans were struggling to come togrips with Wednesday’s killing ofnine African Americans at Eman-

uel African Methodist EpiscopalChurch by a suspected white su-premacist.

“That night, word of the kill-ings struck like a blow to the soul.How do we make sense of such anevil act -- an act of racist terrorismperpetrated in a house of God?”

She said the killings by 21-year-old suspect Dylann Roofwas an indication of entrenchedracism in the United States.“I

know it’s tempting to dismiss atragedy like this as an isolated in-cident, to believe that in today’sAmerica, bigotry is largely behindus. That institutionalized racismno longer exists,” she said. “Butdespite our best efforts, and ourhighest hopes, America’s longstruggle with race is far from fin-ished.” Clinton’s comments cameat Christ the King United Church,just four miles (six kilometers)from Ferguson, Missouri, whereunarmed black teenager MichaelBrown was shot dead by a whitepolice officer in August, sparkingweeks of protests and a nationaldebate about race relations. TheEmanuel bloodbath has promptedsmaller demonstrations, with some

-- including Governor Nikki Ha-ley -- calling for the Confederateflag at the state legislature in SouthCarolina’s capital Columbia to beremoved. Clinton said she sup-ported Haley’s calls, and said theflag was a “symbol of our nation’sracist past that has no place in ournation’s present or future.” “Itshouldn’t fly there, it shouldn’t flyanywhere.”

She also welcomed the deci-sion by top retailers Walmart,Amazon, eBay and Sears to nolonger stock items bearing the con-troversial banner.

Clinton, a former U.S. secre-tary of state and ex-senator, hascalled for tougher gun laws in thewake of the latest tragedy.

Girl ‘aged 12’ in Nigeria market bombingA young female bomber, thoughtto be about 12 years old, killed atleast 10 people in an attack in amarket in northeast Nigeria, wit-nesses say, in the second such at-tack in 24 hours. The blast at theweekly market in Wagir in theGujba district, south of the YobeState capital Damaturu, occurredat around 11am local time (10:00GMT) on Tuesday. "It was a sui-cide attack by a girl of around 12years old," Hussaini Aisami,whose relative was among at least30 people injured by the blast, told

AFP news agency. "She went intothe market and headed straight tothe grain section. She detonatedher explosives in the middle of trad-ers and customers," Aisami said.The injured from Wagir were tak-en to the Sani Abachi SpecialistHospital in Damaturu for treat-ment but others with less seriousinjuries were released. A nurse atthe hospital, who asked not to benamed, confirmed Aisami's ac-count after speaking to other rela-tives. Maiduguri bombings Theblast came a day after a girl thought

to be aged about 17 killed at least20 people at a bus station near afish market in the Borno state cap-ital, Maiduguri, when the explo-sives she was carrying went off. Agirl about the same age was alsokilled nearby when she blew up,but there were no other casualties.Both attacks bore the hallmarks ofthe group Boko Haram, which isstepping up suicide attacks intowns and cities after losing mostof an area the size of Belgium inthe northeast since the start of theyear. Security analysts studying

the phenomenon have suggestedthat younger girls may have theirexplosives detonated remotely bya third party. Boko Haram haskilled thousands of people duringits six-year insurgency in north-east Nigeria. (AL JAZEERA)

At least 10 people die inYobe State when explo-sives worn by younggirl detonates in secondattack in 24 hours.

France summons US envoy over spying claimsFrench Foreign Minister LaurentFabius has summoned the U.S.ambassador over leaked documentsthat suggest her government spiedon President Francois Hollande andtwo predecessors, a diplomaticsource said Wednesday.

The source told AFP that U.S.Ambassador Jane Hartley had beensummoned for a meeting onWednesday afternoon to discussthe documents published byWikileaks on Tuesday.

France said Wednesday thatspying was "unacceptable betweenallies" after WikiLeaks said leakeddocuments showed that the U.S.wiretapped President FrancoisHollande and his two predeces-sors. "It is unacceptable betweenallies," French government spokes-man Stephane Le Foll said, short-ly before an emergency meetingcalled by Hollande with his secu-rity chiefs.

"It is difficult to accept thatbetween allies... there can be thiskind of activity, particularly relat-ed to wiretapping linked to thepresident of the Republic," Le Follsaid. "When we are fighting terror-ism, one has trouble imagining orunderstanding what would moti-vate an ally to spy on his allies,"he added. Le Foll also tried to playdown the controversy, saying itwas not something that should trig-ger a major crisis "There areenough dangerous crises in theworld today," he said.

The White House insistedTuesday it is not targeting Hol-lande's communications and willnot do so. “We are not targeting

and will not target the communi-cations of President Hollande,”said National Security Councilspokesman Ned Price, withoutaddressing what surveillance mighthave been done in the past.

“We do not conduct any for-eign intelligence surveillance activ-ities unless there is a specific andvalidated national security pur-

pose. This applies to ordinary cit-izens and world leaders alike,” hesaid. “We work closely withFrance on all matters of interna-tional concern, and the French areindispensable partners.” The doc-uments released by WikiLeaks --classed as “Top Secret” and firstreported in partnership withFrench newspaper Liberation and

the Mediapart website -- also re-vealed that Hollande approved se-cret meetings on the consequencesof a Greek exit from the eurozoneas early as 2012. The disclosuresprompted the French leader to calla defense council meeting first thingWednesday “to evaluate the natureof the information published bythe press on Tuesday evening and

to draw useful conclusions”, saidone of his aides. The release alsocomes just weeks after PresidentBarack Obama signed into law land-mark legislation ending the govern-ment's bulk telephone data drag-net, significantly reversing Ameri-can policy by reining in the mostcontroversial surveillance programsince 9/11.

Yemen forcesretakeHouthi-heldborder crossingArmy forces loyal to Yemen's ex-iled president seized a border cross-ing with Saudi Arabia on Tuesday,officials in the area and witnessessaid, dealing a rare blow to thecountry's dominant Houthi group.

The Houthis and their allies inYemen's army control three othercrossings with the kingdom, whichhas led an anti-Houthi alliance in athree-month bombing campaignagainst the group to restore Presi-dent Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi topower.

Eyewitnesses reported thatthousands of Yemenis gatheredthere to flee the country after theWadee'ah crossing in easternHadramawt province changedhands amid heavy combat.

After restoring the crossing,anti-Houthi fighters will to joinpopular resistance forces who arefighting in the governorates ofMarib and al-Jawf, sources toldAl-Hadath, Al Arabiya News’ sis-ter channel.

They are also preparing for amilitary move to storm Aden, thesame sources added.

Fighting between Saudi andHouthi forces has closed all otherentry points to impoverished Ye-men's oil-rich neighbor, and oneborder facility has been destroyedin artillery exchanges.

A blockade of Yemen's sea andair ports by the Arab coalition hascreated a humanitarian crisis inwhich food, fuel and medicine arescarce. More than 20 million Ye-menis - 80 percent of the popula-tion - need aid, according to theUnited Nations.

The Houthis say their seizureof the capital, Sanaa, in Septemberand their spread throughout thecountry, which has run up againstfierce resistance by local fighters,is a revolution against Hadi's cor-rupt government and Sunni mili-tants.

Saba, the Houthi-run statenews agency, quoted a militaryofficial as saying the border areahad been taken by "a group of gun-men, al Qaeda militants and mer-cenaries".

The chief-of-staff for the pro-Hadi forces, General MohammedAli al-Maqdeshi, said border staffwere struggling to cope with thewaves of refugees.

"There are thousands of peo-ple fleeing the hell of battles start-ed by the militias against peacefulcivilians which every day cause thenumber of those headed to thecrossing to be even greater and re-

sulted in a lack of services andovercrowding," he wrote on hisofficial Facebook page.

Australiangovt to stripextremists'children ofcitizenshipThe Australian government willbe able to strip the children ofextremists fighting overseas ofAustralian citizenship under con-troversial legislation introducedinto parliament on Wednesday.

Details of the so-called Alle-giance to Australia bill were un-veiled as the mother-in-law of oneman believed killed in Iraq whilefighting for ISIS pleaded for hiswife and children to be allowedto return home.

Karen Nettleton, the motherof Khaled Sharrouf's wife Tara,said her daughter had made the“mistake of a lifetime.”

“Today she is a parent alonein a foreign and vicious land look-ing after a widowed 14-year-oldand four other young children,”Nettleton said in a statement re-leased by her lawyer. Sharroufand his best friend MohamedElomar shot to infamy last yearafter they and Sharrouf's 7-year-old son were pictured holding thesevered heads of Syrian soldiers.Prime Minister Tony Abbott saidthe government had a “high de-gree of confidence” Elomar hadbeen killed but was less sureabout the fate of Sharrouf, fol-lowing reports they both per-ished in a missile strike last week.Under the proposed legislation,dual nationals like Sharrouf andElomar would automatically losetheir Australian citizenship onthe grounds of fighting for a ter-rorist organization overseas. Aterrorist organization is deter-mined as such by the governmentas one that is “opposed to Aus-tralia, or Australia's values, dem-ocratic beliefs, rights and liber-ties.” Civil libertarians have ob-jected to the automatic strippingof nationality based on govern-ment definitions of what consti-tutes terrorism and terrorist ac-tivity.

ISIS destroys mausoleums inSyria’s PalmyraThe Islamic State of Iraq and Syria(ISIS) destroyed two ancientMuslim mausoleums in the historicSyrian city of Palmyra, the coun-try's antiquities director said Tues-day, according to Agence France-Presse.

Maamoun Abdulkarim saidISIS militants blew up the tombsof Mohammed bin Ali, a descen-dant of the Prophet Mohammed'scousin, and Nizar Abu Bahaaed-dine, a religious figure fromPalmyra, three days ago.

Bin Ali's burial place is locat-ed in a mountainous region fourkilometers (almost three miles)north of Palmyra, in central Syria.

Abu Bahaaeddine's tomb, nes-tled in a leafy oasis about 500 me-tres (yards) from Palmyra's ancientruins, is said to be more than fivecenturies old.

“They consider these Islamicmausoleums to be against their

beliefs, and they ban all visits tothese sites,” Abulkarim said.

Ten days ago, fighters from theextremist group also destroyed anumber of tombstones at a ceme-tery for Palmyra residents, Ab-ulkarim told AFP.

“All tombs with marble de-signs were destroyed. For them,graves should not be visible,” hesaid.

ISIS has destroyed at least 50mausoleums dating between 100-200 years old in the regions underits control in north and east Syria,the antiquities director said.

Meanwhile photos publishedby ISIS depicted two armed mencarrying canisters, apparently filledwith explosives, walking up therocky hill to the site.

The extremist group capturedPalmyra, a renowned UNESCOWorld Heritage site, from pro-gov-ernment forces on May 21.

Activists to set sail in newbid to break Gaza blockadeFlotilla carrying pro-Palestinian activists, including aformer Tunisian leader set to sail as early as Friday.Activists aboard a flotilla of boatsare set to sail for Gaza in a freshbid to break Israel's blockade ofthe territory, five years after a sim-ilar attempt ended in a deadly raidby Israeli soldiers. Preparationswere under way on Wednesday forthe so-called Freedom Flotilla III,a convoy of ships carrying pro-Palestinian activists, at least oneEuropean Parliament member andan Arab-Israeli MP. Al Jazeera haslearned that the activists could setsail to Gaza as early as Friday.Related: Mavi Marmara: A voy-age of life and death Their cam-paign comes as Israel faces inter-national pressure over its actionsin Gaza, with a UN report releasedon Monday saying both Israel andPalestinian armed groups may havecommitted war crimes during lastyear's conflict in the besiegedcoastal enclave. Israel's blockadeof the territory dates to 2006, af-ter Hamas won the Palestinian leg-

islative elections, and was tight-ened a year later when Hamas con-solidated control of Gaza. "We'renot alone in considering the block-ade to be inhumane and illegal,"Staffan Graner, an activist who issailing aboard Swedish trawler, theMarianne of Gothenburg, toldAFP news agency. The Marianneof Gothenburg, which set sail fromSicily on Friday, will join four other

vessels carrying some 70 peopleen route to Gaza, according to astatement from the Platform ofFrench NGOs for Palestine, anadvocacy group supporting theeffort. Among those aboard will beformer Tunisian President Mon-cef Marzouki, Spanish MEP AnaMaria Miranda Paza and Arab-Is-raeli politician Basel Ghattas, or-ganisers said.

Editorial

AFGHANISTAN TIMES

Advisory editorial board

Saduddin Shpoon, Dr. Sharif Fayez, Dr. Sultana Parvanta, Dr. Sharifa Sharif,

Dr. Omar Zakhilwal, Setara Delawari, Ahmad Takal

Graphic-Designers:Mansoor Faizy and Edriss Akbari

Marketing & Advertising:

Mohammad Parwiz Arian, 0708954626, 0778894038

Mailing address: P.O. Box: 371, Kabul, Afghanistan

Our Bank Accounts: Azizi Bank: 000101100258091 / 000101200895656

Printed at Afghanistan Times Printing Press

Email: [email protected]

The constitution says

www.afghanistantimes.af

Editor: Abdul Saboor SarirPhone No: +93-772364666

E-mail: [email protected]

Subscription RatesCategories Fee

Annual Afg: 3600

Six Months Afg: 1800

International Organization $200 per year

Afghanistan Timesat your door step

For fast delivery serviceAfghanistan Times seeks the

names, addresses of yourorganizations and the number of

copies you want.

Photojournalist: M. Sadiq Yusufi

THURSDAY .JUNE 25, 2015

AFGHANISTANTIMES

We a r e a n a t ion a l in st i t u t ion a n d n ot t h e vo ice o f a gov t o r a p r iva t e o r ga n iza t ion

Article Two:The sacred religion of Islam is the religion of the Islamic Republic ofAfghanistan. Followers of other faiths shall be free within the bounds of lawin the exercise and performance of their religious rituals.

Ashraf Ghani’s overtures to Pakistan are foundering on the latter’s strategic compulsions.

By Vinay Kaura

Afghan President AshrafGhani is under immense pres-sure. His reconciliation at-tempts are not yielding the de-sired results. Ghani’s desire tobring peace to his war-torncountry cannot be questioned.Before his presidency, Afghan-istan’s relations with neighbor-ing Pakistan were persistentlyrocky. Ghani was sincere in hisdesire to put the past behindthem and open a new chapterin Afghanistan’s embittered re-lationship with Pakistan. Buthis method was flawed.

Ignoring critics across thepolitical spectrum, Ghanistaked his political future onproducing a seismic shift inAfghan policy towards Paki-stan. His ”pivot” toPakistan was rooted in the un-realistic hope that Islamabadwould cooperate with Kabul inforcing the Taliban to the ne-gotiating table. But his hopesseem to have dashed with theferocity of the Taliban offen-sive this summer. Conflict hasintensified, with no end in sight.Kabul’s high-security zoneshave witnessed the worst of theterrorists attacks of late. In-creasing instability in northernAfghanistan has also un-nerved neighboring Turkmeni-stan, Tajikistan, and Uzbeki-stan. Like a menacing cloudbefore a storm, lurking in thebackground is the Islamic State,awaiting only the right momentto add its own sickening brandof jihadi terror. Both politicallyand strategically, Ghani cannotafford to be complacent aboutthe potential negative ramifica-tions of Pakistan’s unwilling-ness or inability to rein in theTaliban.

The ongoing slaughter hasbeen chipping away at the fab-ric of Afghan society. Ghani’spatience is wearing thin. Warn-ing Pakistan that he could re-verse his diplomatic outreach,the Afghan president has madepublic his displeasure at Islam-abad’s failure to deliver on itspromises. A recent sharplyworded letter to the Pakistangovernment reflects Ghani’sfrustration: “The public is ask-ing whether there has been anyreturn from President Ghani’sefforts to secure enduringpeace and cooperation withPakistan. Regardless of his firmcommitment to peace, PresidentGhani has no choice but to be-come a war president to ensurethe survival of his country andthe safety of Afghan womenand children.”

Besides an aggressiveclampdown on Taliban hide-outs in Pakistan’s tribal areas,what Ghani wants is for Paki-stan to target the Haqqani Net-work, which is responsible forlethal terrorist attacks in Kab-ul. Despite some recent Tali-ban-government informal talkshosted by China in Urumqi andby Norway in Oslo, the feroci-ty of the summer offensive in-dicates the Taliban’s lack of se-riousness in discussing peacewith the Ghani administration.

There is considerable pres-sure on Ghani to end his pro-Pakistan stance. But it is earlyto view Ghani’s pubic expres-sion of anger at Islamabad’sinaction as signaling a seriousshift. Rather, he is trying to killtwo birds with one stone. Pri-marily intended to send a clearmessage to Pakistan that hecannot be taken for granted ifthere is no sincerity in fulfillingits counter-terrorism commit-ments, Ghani’s unsurprisingoutbursts also serve to ad-dress the apprehensions of theanti-Pakistan domestic lobby.The controversial memoran-dum of understanding betweenAfghan intelligence agencyNDS and Pakistani spy agencyISI has triggered wide-rangingcriticism within Ghani’s owngovernment. Intrusive domes-tic surveillance, a lack of dem-ocratic accountability, and anti-India intelligence collaborationhas been built into thetreaty. Abdullah Abdullah, Af-ghanistan’s chief executive, isnot happy. After so much op-probrium, Ghani has indicatedthat he will formally sign theintelligence agreement only af-ter achieving broad politicalconsensus in Afghanistan.Speaking in Kandahar recent-ly, he said: “The agreement hasnot yet been signed and re-ports about its signing are onlyspeculations. The proposedagreement will be sent to thecountry’s National SecurityCouncil for its approval.”

Pakistan has been offeredan unprecedented opportunityfor peace with its westernneighbor. This opportunity willnot come again, because fail-ure by Ghani will discourageother Afghan leaders from mak-ing future overtures. But struc-ture and strategic constraintswill make it extremely hard for awavering and vacillating Islam-abad to deliver on the loftypromises made to Ghani. Islam-abad’s capacity to control theAfghan Taliban is highly debat-able. Pakistan’s Chief of ArmyStaff General Raheel

Sharif declared that the “ene-mies of Afghanistan are ene-mies of Pakistan” during a visitto Kabul in February. And whenhe visited Kabul in May, Paki-stani Prime Minister NawazSharif termed the acts of theTaliban acts of terrorism. Butactually following these state-ments up with action woulderode Pakistan’s credibility asa mediator in the eyes of theTaliban.

Islamabad cannot changeits colonial mindset towardsAfghanistan. Gaining “strate-gic depth” in Afghanistan isorganically blended with theanti-India strand of Pakistan’sstrategic culture. As obsessiveopposition to India is the mostconvenient tool available forthe Pakistani military to use toprotect and preserve its privi-leged position within Paki-stan’s politics, society andeconomy, it would be suicidalfor it to allow the essence ofPakistan’s strategic culture toundergo any kind of funda-mental shakeup.

Many Afghans, includingthe Pashtuns, view with disfa-vor the mediation role that Pa-kistan wants to play in the com-plex Afghan imbroglio. Pakistanis certainly within its rights toinsist that Afghan territory notbe used against its national in-terests, but to claim that itshould determine the nature ofAfghan policies vis-à-vis Indiahas Kabul worried and irritat-ed. No people have sufferedmore from Pakistani misadven-tures than the Afghans. Onemight perhaps assert that im-pinging on the rights of theAfghan people is a necessarytrade-off for Pakistan to deliv-er on its peace promises, andthat marrying Afghan subser-vience with Pakistani hegemo-ny is the price for peace in Af-ghanistan. But are Afghans sodesperate for peace that theyare willing to surrender theirsovereignty? In fact, Kabul hasrepeatedly made it clear thatonly it, and not Islamabad, willdrive the reconciliation pro-cess.

Admittedly, in an environ-ment of institutionalized scare-mongering of India, the Paki-stani security establishment’scooperation with the Afghangovernment in bringing aboutlasting peace quickly runs intoirreconcilable strategic pitfalls.One by one, Kabul’s red lineshave been crossed. Blinded bya series of trivial tactical coups,Pakistan seems bound to makeone erratic move after another:Pakistan’s strategic compulsion

to preserve its “strategic as-sets” will only embolden crit-ics of Ghani’s overtures. TheISI-led “strategic depth” jug-gernaut has acquired a momen-tum of its own, and will contin-ue to drive Islamabad’s agen-da.

Lack of progress in over-throwing the Kabul govern-ment has triggered increasingfrustration among many hard-bitten Taliban fighters. Ghanirecognizes the ominous signsof these frustrated Talibanfighters pledging their alle-giance to the Islamic State, butPakistan has yet to compre-hend the looming threat. More-over, Pakistan’s apparent refus-al to dismantle the carefully cre-ated terror infrastructure willcomplicate the implementationof the China-Pakistan Econom-ic Corridor (CPEC), a lifeline forPakistan’s economy. China hasalso agreed to mediate in theAfghan reconciliation processfor its own geostrategic rea-sons, most notably to preventIslamic militancy from fuelingseparatism in Xinjiang region;and to protect its economic in-terests in Afghanistan where ithas made huge investments.What about Chinese hopes?

As far as Afghanistan isconcerned, the wounds havebeen self inflicted. Far frombringing Afghans together, theone-sided cooperation withPakistan is driving them apart.If Ghani does not pull Afghan-istan back, he will find himselfsidelined from the nationalmainstream. His major problemis selling a product not enoughAfghans want to buy. The Af-ghanistan-Pakistan entente,which rests on a shaky plat-form of ditching terrorism whilekeeping the terrorists, is justnot capable of permanentlydetailing India’s geostrategicinterests in Afghanistan, and israther destined to be buried inthe mountains of the HinduKush sooner rather than later.Asif Ibrahim, India’s newly ap-pointed envoy for West Asiaand the Afghanistan-Pakistanregion, should dispel any no-tion that India is losing influ-ence and geopolitical standingin Afghanistan. (Courtesy: TheDiplomat)

Vinay Kaura isan assistant professor in thedepartment of InternationalAffairs and Security Studies,and Coordinator at the Cen-tre for Peace and ConflictStudies, Sardar Patel Univer-sity of Police, Security andCriminal Justice, Jodhpur,Rajasthan, India.

Nangarhar

In an anti-corruption move, the director and deputy of the Kabul Bank’sclearance department have been arrested by the National Directorate ofSecurity (NDS) and law enforcement personnel this week. Both the offi-cials have been held on charges of receiving bribes form a debtor of theformer Kabul Bank. According to the Anti-Corruption Prosecution Offic-er Chairman, Said Alam Ishaqzai, the two officials have been arrested fortaking a $100,000 USD bribe. Soon after forming a national unity govern-ment, President Ashraf Ghani reopened the Kabul Bank case in late 2014,he said all debtors to the bank must payback within a week otherwise theywill be referred to the Attorney General’s Office and put on exit controllist (ECL). Yet despite the warning by the president, some 18 powerfulindividuals from political and business elite families and institutions con-tinue debtors of the bank. Of the 18 bigwigs, only Mahmood Karzai, Gha-far Dawy, and Gulbahar Habibi have publicly committed to paying backtheir debts. Since the bank has already been in headlines for corruptionscam, this new incident will cause sagging of public confidence in the fi-nancial sector. Therefore, the government will have to adopt zero toler-ance for corruption in the bank’s clearance process whereas the govern-ment must also ramp up its anti-corruption drive against other banks andmonetary institutions as well. Moreover, anti-corruption advocates demanda thorough probe into the alleged urban development corruption. The di-rector of the High Office of Anti-Corruption, Said Ghulam Hussain Fa-khri, sought a thorough investigation into the corruption case related tothe Ministry of Urban Development Affairs. This corruption scandal is thesecond biggest. Six of the senior officials in the ministry have been ac-cused of embezzling millions of dollars in funds meant for the ministryprojects. There were also reports regarding millions of dollars corruptionin the Ministry of Defense. Because of the endemic corruption, Afghani-stan, over the past few years, has been scolded by the international com-munity. Despite the severe international pressure and the government’s anti-corruption campaigns, Afghanistan still lags behind as there is no satisfac-tory development against corruption. Since coming into existence, the gov-ernment has been entrusted with the haunting tasks of uprooting corrup-tion, however, given the deep rooted nature of graft culture, it is not aneasier to tackle it in a shorter time with little energies.

Riled at the endemic corruption, the international community has madeit binding upon Kabul to launch a serious war against corruption, lest it willnot receive global aid. When it comes to fighting corruption, the govern-ment must also bring the NGO sector under the fold of scrutiny as trans-parency and accountability of NGOs works is the need of the hour. This isworth appreciation that finally the government has taken notice of it as theMinister of Economy, Abdul Sattar Murad, vowed to increase the account-ability of the NGOs operating in Afghanistan. He said work must be doneto overcome aid waste and enhance the effectiveness of the projects sothat the desired objectives are achieved.

Kabul Bank inheadlines once again

http://www.afghanistantimes.af

The views and opinions expressed in the articles are those of the author(s)and do not reflect the views or opinions of the Afghanistan Times.

Disclaimer:

THURSDAY .JUNE 25, 2015

AFGHANISTANTIMES

Letter to editor will be edited for policy, content and clarity. All letters must have the writer’sname and address. You may send your letters to: [email protected]

ETTER TO THE EDITOR

By Lyse Doucet

Will there be more and more

months of horrific violence in Af-

ghanistan, or will there be historic

negotiations?

This year has already seen

some of the most important Tali-

ban gains on the battlefield, and

the most significant period of in-

formal talks.

Some dared to hope this would

be the year when formal discus-

sions between the Taliban and the

government stood their best chance

of inching forward, after years of a

stubborn stalemate and searing at-

tacks.

But this week’s audacious at-

tack on parliament has again shred-

ded a slim thread of hope.

The timing magnified the sym-

bolism of this moment - Afghan

MPs had gathered, in the holy

month of Ramadan, to finally con-

firm the appointment of a new

defence minister, when the assem-

bly was shattered by explosions.

In a tragic coincidence, the of-

ficial set to take on the top de-

fence job is Massoom Stanekzai,

the man once tasked with finding a

way forward in peace talks. He

survived the suicide attack in 2011

which killed former President

Burhanuddin Rabbani.

The Taliban envoy who had

travelled to a Kabul house that fate-

ful night, ostensibly to discuss

peace, carried a more deadly mes-

sage inside his turban.

This dangerous business of

distinguishing friend from foe is

getting harder. So is the challenge

of discerning Taliban approaches

to end this protracted conflict.

“This attack means that with

one hand they are shaking hands

like a brother but it means we be-

lieve that, not them,” a palpably

shocked MP Shukria Barakzai re-

flected to the BBC. “I feel sorry, I

really feel sorry.”

Only weeks ago, she had tak-

en part in an unprecedented meet-

ing in Oslo between an all-female

Afghan delegation and representa-

tives from the Taliban political of-

fice in Qatar.

Only last week, several Tali-

ban representatives were in Nor-

way again to take part in the annu-

al Mediators’ Forum. The discreet

gathering, set in a stately manor in

quiet woods, was also attended by

senior members of the Afghan gov-

ernment and civil society.

The forum began with Colom-

bia’s President Juan Manuel San-

tos candidly sharing his experienc-

es of his peace talks with the Farc

rebel group, aimed at ending a pun-

ishing 50 year war.

But, in his opening public re-

marks, President Santos made it

clear this was “a battle for peace”,

only waged after he first ensured

“military forces were in our

favour”. While his officials talk, his

soldiers fight; there is no ceasefire.

Afghans sitting in the front

row listened carefully, and took

extensive notes on a conflict which

has often been seen as having par-

allels with their own.

Cups of tea

This year in Afghanistan, the

traditional “fighting season,” after

winter snows melt, is especially

intense, and significant.

The attack on parliament,

which took the lives of a woman

and child and injured dozens more,

came in the wake of important

news from other battlefields. This

year, the Taliban are advancing on

some key fronts including Kunduz

province in the north, and Helmand

province in the south.

And, yet, there’s been much

more talking this year too. Over

the past six months, Taliban rep-

resentatives have sat down in Qa-

tar, Dubai, Oslo, and in Chinese

cities with Afghan government of-

ficials, Afghan women, Western

diplomats and aid officials.

Afghan and Western sources,

including Taliban, all tell a similar

story. In recent months, they’ve

shared cups of tea and proper

meals. They’ve argued over the

past, and presented detailed pa-

pers on the future.

There’s even been the tradi-

tional greetings and embraces be-

tween Afghan men. We’ve

seen Taliban efforts to reach out

to women

with new approaches,

described as being within Islamic

law, on women’s rights to work,

to be educated and to participate

in politics.

“They seem to be trying to

change their image,” assesses an

Afghan woman’s activist with

knowledge of the discussions.

“They’re trying to convey a mes-

sage that they’re ready to govern.”

What next? But a critical step in

this process is still missing. “The

talks of the last six months would

have been very significant but ev-

ery round is the same unofficial

dialogue,” remarks one Western

diplomat working in the region.

“What’s needed now is the next

step.” The “next step” would be

face to face formal talks between

authorised representatives of both

sides.

For all the talking, there have

still been no formal talks. There’s

no Taliban policy that they are

ready to negotiate with a govern-

ment they recognise as the legiti-

mate government of Afghanistan.

But their official position is

still that they will only negotiate

with the United States on issues

that matter: the presence of for-

eign troops; the release of their

prisoners; the removal of individ-

uals from sanctions lists.

When a flurry of news reports

emerged last week that there would

be talks at the Mediators’ Forum,

their website, The Islamic Emirate

in Afghanistan issued a statement

saying this “claim is untrue and

neither is this conference being held

for such a purpose”.

Even if the Taliban wanted to

move to the next step, what would

be the process of reaching it?

This is a movement said to rest

on allegiances to their Emir, Mul-

lah Omar. But he’s not been seen

in public since 2001 and there’s a

growing swirl of speculation over

his absence.

Years ago, the political office

in Qatar, headed by his former

personal secretary Syed Tayyab

Agha, was said to have received

his blessing to negotiate, but only

with US diplomats. Since then, the

villa housing the political office of

The Islamic Emirate of Afghani-

stan was shut after President Ha-

mid Karzai’s vehement protests.

President Ashraf Ghani told

me months ago that he started

working on Taliban talks as soon

as he took office last year. His rad-

ically different approach to his

predecessor rests on working

closely with Pakistan which,

sources say, has different ideas on

which Taliban should sit at any

negotiating table.

So far, Pakistan’s military and

intelligence services, known to

have longstanding contacts with

Afghan Taliban commanders, have

yet to deliver any credible negoti-

ators, or a convincing new process.

“It’s reaching the point where

Kabul will have to say this new

policy with Pakistan is not work-

ing,” said one Afghan official who

had been involved in previous ef-

forts to work with Pakistan in Pres-

ident Karzai’s time in office.

The accelerated pace of infor-

mal talks and intense fighting also

comes at a critical moment for both

the Taliban movement and the Af-

ghan government.

The Taliban are facing a new

challenge from a small but increas-

ingly significant presence

of fighters declaring allegiance to

Islamic State.

Its own movement is still

deeply divided between senior

commanders ready to talk, and

those bent on battling to the end.

But that hasn’t stopped an up-

surge in fighting.

“They’re throwing a lot into

the battle this year including for-

eign fighters who recently fled the

tribal areas of Pakistan,” said one

aid official in Kabul. “Many Tali-

ban commanders believe it’s only

a matter of time before the govern-

ment in Kabul collapses.”

In Kabul, a “National Unity”

government, combining the politi-

cal forces of President Ghani and

Chief Executive Officer, Dr Abdul-

lah Abdullah, is still struggling to

forge a cohesive and constructive

working relationship 10 months

after it took power.

Last week, at the Mediator’s

Forum, Afghans heard a Colombi-

an president speak of peace talks

as his most important mission in a

violent year that, he believes, could

still be the most significant in Co-

lombia’s embattled history.

Afghans no longer announce

that any year is “critical”. Every

year is. But halfway through this

one, no-one can be sure that “a

battle for peace” will prevail.

(Courtesy: BBC)

Two new fronts appear to be open-

ing in the Taliban’s battle for Af-

ghanistan. The Islamic State’s

(ISIS’s) expansion into Afghani-

stan and Pakistan poses a strate-

gic threat to the Taliban’s influence.

But more importantly, Pakistan —

long an ally who has supported

and sheltered the Taliban since

2001 — seems to be withdrawing

its assistance in response to pres-

sure from China, Saudi Arabia, and

Afghanistan. These two unexpect-

ed challenges are forcing the Tali-

ban leadership to reassess their

approach to the militancy and their

future political role in order to en-

sure their long term survival.

Since assuming the Afghan

presidency, Ashraf Ghani’s gam-

bit has been to make overtures to

Islamabad while coordinating

states — especially China — in

pressuring Pakistan to bring the

Taliban to negotiations or to con-

front militants of all hues on its

soil. Apparently succumbing to

this pressure and worried about the

growing insecurity in Pakistan, the

military and civilian leadership in

Pakistan have made unprecedent-

ed statements regarding the Tali-

ban. Pakistani Prime Minister

Nawaz Sharif denounced the Tali-

ban’s spring offensive during a visit

to Kabul in May 2015, saying that

the “enemies of Afghanistan can-

not be friends of Pakistan.” Earlier

this year, Pakistan’s Chief of Army

Staff Raheel Sharif made a similar

statement. And earlier this month,

Awais Ahmed Khan Laghari, chair-

man of the Foreign Relations Com-

mittee of the Pakistan National

Assembly, demanded that Islama-

bad hand over the Haqqani Net-

work and Afghan Taliban to Kabul

in exchange for Ghani’s overture.

As there are no signs of the

Taliban’s fight subsiding, Kabul

expects Pakistan to undertake mil-

itary action against Afghan Tali-

ban sanctuaries across the Durand

line. Pakistan’s pressure on the

Taliban would limit their opera-

tional capacity, but it is impossi-

ble to uproot the group entirely.

The Taliban’s response to Paki-

stani pressure will likely take the

The future of the TalibanBy Hekmatullah Azamy

form of retaliatory attacks and in-

creased activity through 2016,

demonstrating their independence

and potency. Meanwhile, the

group’s leadership would need to

find alternative safe havens while

at the same time expanding terri-

tory in Afghanistan.

The Taliban’s relationship

with Pakistan is based upon con-

venience. Earlier this year while

under pressure to either enter ne-

gotiations with Kabul or leave Pa-

kistan, the Taliban reportedly de-

cided to leave. Confirming this in a

personal interview, a high-profile

Taliban leader operating in the

southern and southeastern regions

of Afghanistan explained that the

Taliban cannot be “controlled” by

Pakistan and will never enter peace

talks unless their conditions are

met. “We are not afraid of Paki-

stan abandoning us and I am cer-

tain we [Taliban] will find alterna-

tives and handle the situation

well,” the source said.

Taliban sources avoid discuss-

ing alternatives to Pakistani sup-

port, but the recent Taliban expan-

sion in northern Afghanistan ap-

pears to be a new strategy. Since

the beginning of their Operation

Azm — a spring offensive

launched in April 2015 — the group

has jeopardized security and made

territorial gains in northern parts

of the country. This appears to be

a strategic response to concerns

that foreign fighters led by the Is-

lamic Movement of Uzbekistan —

who shifted their allegiance to the

Islamic State in September 2014

— might gain the upper hand in

the region. Moreover, a second

Taliban source explained in an in-

terview that the group intends to

break the image that the Taliban

are confined to Afghanistan’s

southern and eastern regions by

demonstrating their ability to ex-

ert influence across the entire coun-

try. The source explained the Tal-

iban are concerned that if they are

seen as confined to the south and

east this might eventually split the

country in the long run.

Beyond territorial expansion,

the Taliban’s survival requires the

continued development of resourc-

es — both human and financial.

According to discussions with Af-

ghan intelligence officials and Tal-

iban sources, the group has con-

trol over vast manpower and fi-

nances. But with the loss of Paki-

stan’s support and the decrease of

international money pumped into

the Afghan economy, Taliban re-

sources appear to be challenged for

the foreseeable future.

The Taliban’s five main illegal

economic sources, particularly

poppy production, will likely ex-

pand into the north. Additionally,

smuggling into Central Asia and the

extraction of precious gems and

antiques will also likely expand.

Meanwhile, the Taliban can use

their history of jailbreaks to replen-

ish personnel. And abductions are

likely to grow to foster hostage

ransoms and exchanges.

Moreover, supporting region-

al militant groups, potentially the

Baloch separatist movements in

Pakistan, could provide the Tali-

ban with financial resources and

men. International jihadist groups

and sympathizers from across the

region will remain a source of fund-

ing and manpower. The Taliban

will likely need to procure weap-

ons from black markets and cor-

rupt Afghan officials, while seiz-

ing weapons from operations

against Afghan security forces.

But over time, as Taliban re-

sources dwindle and disillusion-

ment grows, a parallel political

wing to their military campaign will

probably take shape. Some Tali-

ban will actively pursue political

aims, seeking to win over sympa-

thetic segments of the population

by delivering services — such as

judicial and security services —

while the military wing continues

violence as a form of political le-

verage. At this stage, the Taliban

will be transformed, with tactics

shifting towards bolstering their

political interests and ensuring

their survival in exchange for re-

duced violence. Limited but high-

profile attacks, some covert, will

continue as way of enforcing their

demands and to make sure they

are respected while a new status

quo slowly takes shape.

Afghanistan has a strategic geography and is located in an important part of South Asia region. Afghanistan connects South Asian and CentralAsian countries. However, conflicts and unrest have restrained the chance for this country to use the opportunity of connecting South andCentral Asian countries. There are a number of mega projects that will enable Afghanistan to find the opportunity of gaining more benefitsfrom them but insecurity has hampered the projects. These projects include TAPI pipeline project, CASA-1000 project and others. TheAfghan government should work on is foreign policy as there are a number of gaps in it. It should come up with another measures and waysin its time with Pakistan which has mostly affected development, security and economy in Afghanistan. Kabul should strengthen its trade andeconomic ties with neighboring and regional countries as it is the main option that brings the people of the regional state together. Moreover,

the Afghan government should equalize and balance its relations with its close neighbors including Iran, India and Pakistan.This should be enabled through building up economic and trade ties with these countries.

Karim Ahmadzai, Taimani, Kabul

Afghanistan’s ties with regional states

The contest between twoquasi-states: ISIL and RojavaBy Ibrahim Al-Marashi

The recent string of victories ofthe Syrian-Kurdish People's Pro-tection Units (YPG) against theISIL-held town of Tal Abyad, onthe Syrian-Turkish border, and theseizure of an ISIL military baseoutside of the so-called IslamicState's declared capital of Raqqa,demonstrate how non-state mili-tias have achieved greater successin this war against the Islamic Stateof Iraq and the Levant than theconventional militaries of Iraq andSyria. Apparently the YPG's of-fensives were conducted in tandemwith US air strikes, similar to thescenario in Tikrit, Iraq, where theUS ultimately relented andlaunched air strikes along with anoffensive led by the Iranian-alliedIraqi Shia militias. In both Tikritand Tal Abyad, it was the combi-nation of US air power and an alli-ance with local militias that securedvictory against well-entrenchedISIL fighters. In both cases, the UShad allied with militias, not con-ventional militaries, that Washing-ton had been wary of supporting.The Syrian YPG is affiliated withthe Turkish Workers Party (PKK),which is officially on the US statedepartment's list of terroristgroups. Syrian Kurds reclaim TalAbyad in country's north KataibHezbollah, an Iraqi Shia militia, isalso on the list, yet it took part inthe battle to expel ISIL from Tikrit,bringing the goals of the US andthis Shia group together in thebirthplace of Saddam Hussein.Identity-based communities Thedynamics of these battles haveforced Washington into an uneasy,de-facto alliance with militias likethe YPG and Kataib Hezbollah.What these fighting forces have incommon is that they view ISIL asan existential threat to their com-munities. ISIL has proved deter-mined to combat the Kurds ofYPG, particularly in the past overthe town of Kobane, not only forterritory, but because the YPG'scombination of secular, non-sec-tarian, ethno-nationalism is anath-ema to ISIL's transnational Islam-ist identity. ISIL has proven to tar-get Shia Muslims for the simplereason that it has declared all mem-bers of the sect as non-believers.ISIL represents a threat to both ofthese identity-based communities,and thus the militias of bothgroups have proven more motivat-ed and tenacious in combating ISILfighters, making them worthy

partners with the US aim of coun-tering ISIL. The YPG victories havesevered one of ISIL's primary ar-teries into Turkey itself, removingone of the links ISIL has utilised tosell black market oil and antiqui-ties, in addition to serving as a con-duit for its foreign fighters... Grant-ed, the YPG's fighting strength hasbeen strengthened with Peshmergafighters from the Iraqi KurdistanDemocratic Party (KDP), and theShia militias include fighters fromthe Iraqi Dawa and Islamic Su-preme Council of Iraq, all partieswho began a working relationshipwith the US during their pre-2003years as part of the Iraqi opposi-tion. However, the amorphous co-alition against ISIL has allied theUS with Iran as well, and Iranian-supported militias or PKK-affili-ated groups, and the past prece-dents indicate that only when all ofthese elements cooperate can vic-tories against ISIL result in depriv-ing the group of territory on theground. Bizarre constellation offorces Further victories may resultfrom the deployment of more USSpecial Forces in the battle, or themuch vaunted Iraqi forces retrainedby the US at the moment, but as ofyet, it is a bizarre constellation offorces that have achieved victoryagainst ISIL, itself another bizarreconstellation of purported formerBaathists, local Iraqis and Syrianfighters, and foreign fighters, includ-ing a contingent of Western con-verts to Islam. The YPG's success,however, will certainly alarm theTurkish state, concerned about theKurdish resurgence on its border.The de-facto alliance between theUS and YPG has alarmed Turkeyand continues to fray US-Turkishrelations. As the YPG is affiliatedwith the PKK, the Turkish securi-ty establishment no doubt worriesabout a resurgent Kurdish entity onits border. Furthermore, a Turkishparty, the HPD, which was giventhe blessing of jailed PKK leaderAbdullah Ocalan to represent theaspirations of Turkey's Kurds,fared relatively well in the recentTurkish elections, entering the par-liament and preventing the incum-bent AK party from transformingTurkey into a presidential systemunder Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Thecombination of both recent events,signalling the empowerment ofTurkish and Syrian Kurds, will cer-tainly raise concerns among politi-cal elites in Turkey. YPG fightersgather at the eastern entrance to thetown of Tal Abyad Furthermore,

the YPG victories have severed oneof ISIL's primary arteries into Tur-key itself, removing one of the linksISIL has utilised to sell black mar-ket oil and antiquities, in additionto serving as a conduit for its for-eign fighters who come to Raqqavia the area that surrounds TalAbyad. Too early to tell While theShia militias' victories in Tikrit inApril were a blow to ISIL, thegroup counterattacked and seizedthe Iraqi city of Ramadi. While itis too early to tell what ISIL's re-sponse will be to YPG's victory,the YPG did not just deprive ISILof territory, but severed a trans-portation route that sustained thegroup financially and in terms ofrecruits, in addition to delivering asymbolic blow against notions ofISIL's invincibility. The YPG vic-tories ultimately highlight the con-test between two quasi-states, theso-called Islamic State and Roja-va, the collective name of the defacto autonomous Kurdish regionsthat formed in north and northeastof Syria during its civil war. Thetwo quasi-states are not only bat-tling over the same territory inSyria, they reflect two competingmodels of governance in the areawhere the authority of the Syrianstate has collapsed. Each quasi-state is the antithesis of the other,yet both seek the trappings ofstatehood, ranging from nationalanthems to border guards and bor-der crossings delineating the stateitself. Rojava highlights it multi-ethnic and multiconfessional diver-sity, housing Muslims, Christians,and Yazidis, while ISIL enforcesreligious homogeneity on the ter-ritory it conquers. Rojavaemerged from an ethno-nationalistKurdish movement, creating a statefor Syria's Kurds, whereas ISIL os-tensibly repudiates nationalism,claiming it is a state of faith, albeita state for Muslims as ISIL rigidlydefines the faith. New types ofactors Rojava highlights it multi-ethnic and multiconfessional diver-sity, housing Muslims, Christians,and Yazidis, while ISIL enforcesreligious homogeneity on the ter-ritory it conquers.Ibrahim al-Marashi is an assis-tant professor at the Departmentof History, California State Uni-versity, San Marcos. He is the co-author of "Iraq's Armed Forces:An Analytical History." The viewsexpressed in this article are theauthor's own and do not necessar-ily reflect Al Jazeera's editorialpolicy.


AFGHANISTANTIMES

KARACHI: Is Karachi experienc-ing climate change? Where is all thisheat coming from? How can theheat kill people in hundreds? Baf-fled Karachiites are wonderingwhat is happening to the weatherpatterns in their city but the re-cent heat wave may not have comeas unannounced as some of usthink.

Scientists have warned forsome time now that heat waveswill become more frequent and in-tense due to climate change, yetthe government is yet to recognisethis impending threat.

Death toll from the ongoingheat wave across Karachi, whichwas amplified by high humidity,load-shedding and low water con-sumption as people are fasting, hasnow risen to above 700.

Currently, hundreds of pa-tients suffering from heat strokeand heat exhaustion are being treat-ed by government and private hos-pitals in Karachi. And it is a factthat many of these deaths couldhave been avoided if the govern-ment had given early warnings inrelation to the heat wave and hadprovided people with increasedaccess to clean drinking water.What caused the heat wave in Kara-chi The weeks leading to the startof monsoon season are usually thewarmest of the year throughoutPakistan. Karachi, being on theArabian Sea coast is blessed by seabreeze which moderates the city’sweather. During the past week, dueto a low-pressure system out atsea, the sea breeze has not flowntowards the city leading to a spikein temperatures, Dr Ghulam Ra-sul, head of Pakistan’s Meteoro-logical Department (PMD), says.

“A low pressure system de-veloped over the Arabian Sea, andthe winds blew towards the lowpressure area, from the coast tothe sea. The wind flow pattern re-versed, as winds blew to fill upthe low pressure area developingover the sea”. Sea breeze moder-ates temperatures in Karachi,which would rise to between 45and 50 degrees Celsius in May andJune, says Dr Rasul, adding that“a low pressure system over theArabian Sea is a normal feature forthe months of May and June, andit will not last more than fourdays.” People cool themselves offat Sea View in Karachi on Tues-day. - AP People cool themselvesoff at Sea View in Karachi on Tues-day. - AP The pre-monsoon sea-son was slated to arrive on the night

of June 23 with approaching windsand it is likely that Karachi andthe rest of the country will receiverainfall in the coming days. Dr Ra-sul moreover suggests that “themonsoon incursion entering fromthe south of the country will runacross Sindh and Balochistan,while another monsoon currentwill enter from the north of thecountry through Azad Kashmir,bringing rainfall to northeasternPunjab, Rawalpindi, Malakand,Nowshera and will continue south-wards to Sargodha and Lahore.” IsKarachi experiencing climatechange?

The PMD’s chairman howev-er does not see a link between thecurrent heat wave battering Kara-chi and climate change.

This is in contrast with theviews of Dr Qamaruz Zaman

Chaudhry, a former head of thePMD and now a climate changeexpert in Pakistan, who says thatthe heat wave is “unusual” and is“one of the manifestations of cli-mate change”.

Dr Chaudhry authored Paki-stan’s first National ClimateChange Policy. He stresses uponthe fact that “rising temperaturesresulting in enhanced heat and wa-ter-stressed conditions, particular-ly in arid and semi-arid regions, willlead to reduced agricultural produc-tivity”.

Climate change contributes tomajor survival concerns for Paki-stan, particularly in relation to thecountry’s water, food and energysecurity, but how much of thesechallenges are manageable and upto which degrees are some ques-tions that need exploring.

As for the ongoing heat wavein Karachi and the casualties thatit has resulted in, Dr Chaudhrysays that the government shouldhave been on alert beforehand andshould have provided timely ad-vice to citizens on how to deal withthe extreme weather conditions.

“Outdoor activities shouldhave been restricted, particularlyall labour activities until the heatwave had subsided,” the formerPMD chief says. Warmer sum-mers, milder winters

nother expert, Dr Mohsin Iqbalfrom the Global Change ImpactStudy Centre in Islamabad, haspointed out that the rise in tem-perature in Pakistan is higher thanthe average global temperature in-crease. “There has also been an in-crease in climate induced extremeevents – an increase in heat waves,

droughts, floods, cyclones andwildfires. In Pakistan, the frequen-cy and intensity of extreme eventshas increased; there were superfloods in 2010 and 2011 and back-to-back floods in 2011, 2012, 2013and 2014. There have beendroughts, intense heat waves andsevere cyclonic storms in the coun-try,” explains Dr Iqbal, adding thatall aspects of food security arepotentially affected by climatechange. He is the only scientistfrom Pakistan to contribute to thelatest scientific report of the In-tergovernmental Panel on ClimateChange (IPCC) that was releasedin 2014. A man uses a hand-heldfan to cool down his son whilewaiting for their turn for a medicalcheckup outside the Jinnah Post-graduate Medical Centre (JPMC)during intense hot weather in Kara-

chi. - AP A man uses a hand-heldfan to cool down his son whilewaiting for their turn for a medicalcheckup outside the Jinnah Post-graduate Medical Centre (JPMC)during intense hot weather in Kara-chi. - AP The IPCC report saysthat “global climate change is like-ly to be accompanied by an in-crease in the frequency and inten-sity of heat waves, as well as warm-er summers and milder winters”.Impact of extreme heat on humanhealth

With hundreds of Karachiitesbecoming casualty to the ongoingheat wave, understanding weatherpatterns and how they may be af-fecting our health and quality oflife is becoming increasingly im-portant, particularly as the latestIPCC report says that “the impactof extreme summer heat on human

health may be exacerbated by in-creases in humidity". The reportsays that "excess mortality duringheat waves is greatest in the elder-ly and people with pre-existing ill-ness".

"Much of this excess mortali-ty from heat waves is related tocardiovascular, cerebrovascularand respiratory disease. The mor-tality impact of a heat wave is un-certain in terms of the amount oflife lost; a proportion of deathsoccur in susceptible persons whowere likely to have died in the nearfuture. Nevertheless, there is a highlevel of certainty that an increasein the frequency and intensity ofheat waves would increase thenumbers of additional deaths fromhot weather. Heat waves are alsoassociated with nonfatal impactssuch as heat stroke and heat ex-haustion,” the report explains indetail. Heat waves also have amuch greater health impact in ur-ban areas than in surrounding sub-urban and rural areas. This is be-cause urban areas typically expe-rience higher temperatures becauseof the "heat island" effect.

Given the rising average globaltemperature, it is expected thatextreme heat waves will becomemore common worldwide. Thepast year, 2014, has been rankedthe warmest year on record, driv-en by the accumulation of heat-trapping greenhouse gases in theatmosphere. However, 2015 is nottoo far behind. Nine of the 10 hot-test years on record have all oc-curred in the 21st century. HowAhmedabad prepares for heatwaves and what Karachi can learnertainly, mortality during a heatwave can be prevented.

After a heat wave in 2010 killedan estimated 3,000 people in theIndian city of Ahmedabad, the ad-ministration established a “HeatHealth Action Plan” that raisedawareness of health risks from ex-treme heat among citizens andtrained healthcare workers to rec-ognise signs of heat stress.

City officials there realisedthat coordinated action was need-ed to prepare for the rising threatof extreme heat and scientistsworked to develop a forecast sys-tem that could alert the adminis-tration to impending heat wavesseveral days out.

Perhaps officials in Karachi canlearn from the example of Ahmed-abad in order to prepare for futureheat waves, which scientists sayare all too likely.

A man tries to help another who has fainted due to the heat at a roadside in Karachi. - AP

Refugees are vulnerable to violence from smugglers who pay off Bangladeshi authorities, insiders say.

Torture, rape, corruption, and ran-som demands - the horror experi-enced by migrants has been allowedto flourish for decades, accordingto a source inside the SoutheastAsian trafficking industry.

Each year thousands of Ro-hingya refugees flee from Myan-mar to camps at Cox's Bazar acrossthe border in Bangladesh. Seekingto continue their journey to coun-tries such as Malaysia, they arevulnerable to the gangs who orga-nise boat travel.

"We have to pay the local po-lice [in Bangladesh] before makingany voyage," said Munirol, a bro-ker for traffickers, who asked thathis real name not be published toprotect himself from police repris-als. Bangladesh police crack downon human traffickers

The 59-year-old said he fledpersecution in Myanmar's Rakhinestate in the early 1990s and trav-elled to Cox's Bazar. He later madethe dangerous sea voyage to Ma-laysia, where he worked for eightyears in construction before re-turning to Bangladesh, having be-come unhappy with the "tiresomeand dangerous" work and being"regularly tortured" by supervisorsand management. While his onlyson stayed in Malaysia, where hedrives a taxi, Munirol became amiddle-man for migrant traders inCox's Bazar. "This is easy money.We usually make 170,000 taka[$2,185] for every person that wecan traffic to Malaysia," he said,adding he personally gets $257from each person sent. Munirolsaid the traffickers bribe local au-thorities, including ruling partyleaders. "We will be forced to stopour operations if we do not paythem," he said. "Everybody livingin the coastal areas of Cox's Bazarknows that the police help us. Ifwe don't pay them they will arrestus. We also have to pay the borderguard officials." Al Jazeera contact-ed Bangladesh's State Minister forHome Affairs Asaduzzaman KhanKamal and Dhaka police chiefAKM Shahidul Haque about theaccusations, but received no re-sponse. However, Colonel Mo-hammad Khalequzzaman, BorderGuard Bangladesh's sector com-mander for Cox's Bazar, said hewas unaware of such corrupt prac-tices by authorities. "This is thefirst time I am hearing this,"Khalequzzaman told Al Jazeera."Our accountability is 100 percent.

If we get proof of any such inci-dents where officials are takingmoney from traffickers, we willtake prompt actions against them."RELATED: The going rate for aboatload of asylum seekers

The Southeast Asian migrantcrisis has made worldwide head-lines this year following the dis-covery of mass graves in the jun-gles of Thailand and Malaysia.

At least 25,000 Rohingya andBangladeshis were smuggled ontraffickers' boats in the first threemonths of 2015, according to theOffice of the United Nations HighCommissioner for Refugees (UN-HCR). UNHCR estimated 300 ofthose travellers died at sea, whileit said the survivors were unawarethey would have to pay up to$2,000 for their freedom on top ofthe $90-$370 boat fare.

Treacherous journey Moham-mad, a resident of Cox's Bazar, hasworked as a boatman for a numberof such trafficking trips and is try-ing to get to Malaysia himself. Alsospeaking under a false name toavoid arrest, he backed up Mu-nirol's claims that authorities arebribed to facilitate the illicit mi-grant trade, and told Al Jazeera thesyndicates involved are comprisedof three separate groups.

"The first group organises thevictims. These are the poor andilliterate Rohingya and Bang-ladeshis in coastal villages. Theyare easily persuaded when theyhear about earning income in dol-

lars in Malaysia," the 25-year-oldsaid. The migrants are then givento the second group, said Moham-mad, which puts them on the fish-ing boats. "At least 80 to 100 peo-ple are crammed into each trawler.The second group are also the oneswho torture the migrants on theboat during the sea trips throughthe Bay of Bengal and AndamanSea," said Mohammad.

Once the boats reach the shoresof Thailand, or neighbouring is-lands, the migrants are handed overto another group, he said. Theyare held hostage, tortured, andforced to call their families - fromwhom ransoms are demanded.

According to Mohammad, themigrants are taken across the Ma-laysian border only after the ran-soms are paid to contacts of thetraffickers in Bangladesh and My-anmar. The illegal migrants' jour-ney to Malaysia - a regular routefor them since the 1990s - has be-come more dangerous in recentyears, said Tasneem Siddiqui,founder of the Refugee and Migra-tory Movements Research Unit atthe University of Dhaka. "In 2012,a network was formed by the traf-fickers of Bangladesh, Thailand,and Myanmar, as they realisedthat they can make more moneythrough this process," Siddiquitold Al Jazeera. Siddiqui said thebrokers and traffickers target "peo-ple from areas in Bangladesh whichare more affected by climatechange". They lure those who are

either jobless or homeless by prom-ising lucrative work in SoutheastAsia. She said the traffickers"throw migrants into the sea" ifthey or their families don't pay theransom. Those who survive endup working on plantations or onfishing boats, where they are treat-ed like slaves. Analysis: Myan-mar's attitude to the Rohingya Sex-ual abuse UK-based human rightsgroup Restless Beings said it hasdocumented several cases of rapeand sexual abuse of Rohingya andBangladeshi women and childrenmigrants in jungle camps and at sea.

"While the traffickers were incharge of the vessels, deals weremade with Malay, Indonesian andThai fishermen's boats during theirjourney through the AndamanSea," Restless Beings' founderMabrur Ahmed told Al Jazeera."Groups of two to six women wereforced onto the boats, where theywould be held captive for days."

The Rohingya are willing torisk such a perilous journey be-cause of the treatment they faceback home in Myanmar, accord-ing to Ahmed.

"The basic human rights of theRohingya have been violated bythe military government througharbitrary arrests, seizure of prop-erty and daily xenophobic abuse,"he said, adding ASEAN countriesshould intervene diplomatically sothe Muslim ethnic minority canreceive "equal citizenship" inMyanmar. Al Jazeera

EACH YEAR THOUSANDS OF ROHINGYA FLEE FROM MYANMAR TO CAMPS AT COX'S BAZARACROSS THE BORDER IN BANGLADESH [GETTY]

Beach gives hope toGaza's drowning economyYaser Arafat al-Masri's new falafelshop is a simple affair. His fryer ismade out of a gutted washing ma-chine, and his salad counter is asimple table he built with recycledwood covered in foil. He sold hismotorcycle to pay the $350 need-ed to rent a basic space on the beachin Beit Lahia, in the north of theGaza Strip, for the summermonths. "My first idea was toopen a coffee shop near my housein Beit Hanoun," Masri, 31, toldAl Jazeera. But both his home andthe adjoining store he had beenabout to open were destroyed dur-ing Israel's assault on Gaza lastsummer, leaving him unemployedand renting a one-room apartmentfor a family of seven.

"Maybe I can do it this year.But the beach is a good place tostart again," he said. Beit Lahia'swhite sand beach stretches for twokilometres from the Israeli borderto al-Shati, also known as BeachCamp, in northern Gaza. On sum-mer evenings and weekends, it fillswith families crowding undershady umbrellas or by the water.

People sell boiled sweet cornand sweet potatoes from woodencarts, and towards sunset, ridersbathe their horses in the sea.

A Gazan family spends theirafternoon at Beit Lahia beach [Ed-mée van Rijn/Al Jazeera]

Isolated from the world as bothIsrael and Egypt tightly controlGaza's borders, many residentsturn to the beach as a temporaryescape. It also provides an oppor-tunity for residents of the territo-ry to set up businesses with a rel-atively small financial investment- a critical factor after many losttheir homes and businesses duringthe 2014 war. According to theUN, the war last summer killed2,139 Palestinians, including morethan 500 children, 72 Israelis ofwhich 66 were soldiers, and oneThai national. Nearly a year afterIsrael's war on Gaza, dubbed Op-eration Protective Edge, reconstruc-tion on the ground has barely start-ed, with just a quarter of the aidpledged by international donorshaving so far been released.

Not a single one of the 19,000homes destroyed during the 50-day war has been rebuilt, and anestimated 17,500 families remainhomeless.

"The beach is full, but peoplethis year don't have much moneyto spend," said Hafed al-Sultan, aformer fisherman who owns abeach café and rents out umbrellasand lounge chairs.

He launched his business lastyear after the Israeli navy confis-

cated his fishing boat and nets, butit ground to a halt when the warbegan. "If I make enough moneyto buy new fishing nets, I will goback to sea. This is as close as Ican get to it now," he said. A WorldBank report published in May saidthe 2014 war, combined withEgypt's crackdown on Gaza smug-gling tunnels, shaved an estimated$460m off Gaza's economic out-put last year, pushing an alreadybattered economy towards "theverge of collapse". The only thingthat is going to make a differenceto enterprises in Gaza is to lift theblockade. Steen Lau Jorgensen,World Bank country director forthe West Bank and Gaza Unem-ployment in Gaza is the highest inthe world at 43 percent, withyouth unemployment as high as60 percent.

The Palestinian Ministry ofNational Economy estimates thatnearly 4,200 commercial enterpris-es were affected by the 50-daywar. Of these, 1,255 were de-stroyed and more than 90 percentwere small stores. "First of all weneed to get the materials in to re-build, and that has proven to bevery slow," Steen Lau Jorgensen,the World Bank country directorfor the West Bank and Gaza, toldAl Jazeera. "But ultimately theonly thing that is going to make adifference to enterprises in Gazais to lift the blockade… Small busi-

nesses can do reconstruction, andit's impressive to see what theyare already doing. But there hasbeen two percent growth in 20years," Jorgensen said. The reportalso points out that, during thissame period, gross domestic prod-uct in low income countries in-creased by 259 percent, whichmeans Gaza's economy is operat-ing at a fraction of its estimatedpotential. "And yes, the Israelishave let some exports out, but it'sstill less than one percent of 2006

levels," added Jorgensen.One of Amjed Tantesh's em-

ployees at the 'sea pool' instructschildren to paddle their feet in thewater [Edmée van Rijn/Al Jazeera]On the lifeguard tower, GhassanZayed, 38, blows his whistle ev-ery few minutes to warn waywardswimmers. He works for the civildefence department, run by theHamas administration. "I havebeen a lifeguard for 12 years," hetold Al Jazeera. "In the winter, theymove us to other departments." Heis one of around 40,000 workerswho have not been paid full sala-ries for several months because theFatah-Hamas unity government,which resigned on Wednesday af-ter over a year, failed to carry outits functions while Hamas retainedde facto control of the Strip. "Peo-ple this year are more stressed thanever before," said Amjed Tantesh,who started a swimming school atBeit Lahia beach last month.Known by his kids as Abu Ah-mad, Tantesh decided to build a"sea pool" - a safe swimming areadefined by Shujayea: Massacre atDawn a semi-artificial rock barri-er. "This way we don't have toworry about power shortages forpumps to fill the pool," he said.With six employees, his swimmingclasses are attended by more than200 children who are shuttled by afree bus from all over the north ofGaza. He recently launched a

crowdfunding campaign to be ableto offer free classes to childrenwhose families cannot afford them.A former Gaza backstroke cham-pion, he ran a similar programmein 2011, but had to cut it short."Parents couldn't pay the fees," hesaid.

"I'm afraid I will run into thesame problem now." But Abu Ah-mad remains optimistic aboutwhat he can achieve on the BeitLahia beach: "I want to produceworld class athletes." Al Jazeera


AFGHANISTANTIMES

Trade bill clears US Senate hurdle, at brink of passage

WASHINGTON: The USSenate pushed bipartisantrade legislation to the

brink of final approval Tuesday ina combined effort by PresidentBarack Obama and Republicancongressional leaders to rescue ameasure that appeared all but deadless than two weeks ago.

It is one of several measurescomprising Obama’s second-termtrade agenda as the administrationworks to finalize a 12-nation agree-ment among countries on bothsides of the Pacific Ocean.

The legislation cleared a keyhurdle on a 60-37 vote, preciselythe number needed in the 100-

member chamber. A final vote isexpected by Wednesday on theHouse-passed measure, whichwould then go to the White Housefor Obama’s signature.

Know more: House passesObama’s Pacific trade pact

Another bill, to provide fed-eral aid to workers who lose their

jobs because of imports, is alsoawaiting approval. The rescue planhatched last week calls for the Sen-ate to pass that measure and theHouse to follow suit later thisweek, just before lawmakers begina July 4 holiday vacation.

Eager to reassure Democratswho expressed doubt about a Re-

publican commitment to pass thefollow-up bill, The House leader,Speaker John Boehner, issued astatement saying the House willvote on it “once it passes the Sen-ate.”

The legislation has the sup-port of the administration and busi-ness organizations, who say it is

necessary to win lower barriers toUS-made goods around the world.

Opponents include organizedlabour and most Democrats inCongress, who argue that past glo-bal trade deals have resulted in thelarge scale loss of American jobs— and claim this time would be nodifferent. Those differences were

reflected on the Senate floor.Majority Leader Mitch

McConnell, a Republican, said thevote demonstrated “we can worktogether on something that’s im-portant for our country.” But Sen.Sherrod Brown, a Democrat, saidit would be a “day of celebrationin corporate suites.”

Surpluses fortifycurrencies in North AsiaSINGAPORE: Emerging marketsin North Asia such as South Koreaand Taiwan will lean on theirstrong current account surplusesto counter any ill effect of a USinterest rate hike on their curren-cies, in contrast to their more ex-posed peers in Southeast Asia.

Higher US rates could divertcapital from emerging Asia, weigh-

ing on the region’s currencies.To help counter that, a coun-

try would need trade surpluses,which would contribute to currentaccount gains and currencystrength as seen in the case ofSouth Korea and Taiwan. Currentaccount surpluses also deter cur-rency speculators, which descend-ed on economies reeling in deficits

in the 1997-98 Asian financial cri-sis. South Korea reported a cur-rent account surplus of $40.9 bil-lion on a seasonally adjusted basisin the first four months of 2015,while Taiwan posted a $22bn sur-plus in the first quarter and Chinahad a surplus of $78.9bn in thesame period. In contrast, Indone-sia had a $3.9bn deficit. Malaysiareported a small $10bn surplus,but its outlook is marred by lowcommodity prices seen undermin-ing the value of the country’s ex-ports.

Reflecting the surpluses, thecurrencies of emerging economiesin North Asia have outpaced theirSoutheast Asian peers this year.The Taiwan dollar has gained 2.9per cent against the US dollar.While the South Korean won haseased 0.5pc and the Chinese yuanretreated 0.1pc, the Indonesianrupiah has lost 7pc, hitting a 17-year low this month. The Malay-sian ringgit has fallen 6.9pc, whilethe Thai baht has dropped 2.5pc.

International Airfinance Corpora-tion (IAFC) has appointed Quan-tum Investment Bank Ltd and Pal-ma Capital Limited, both regulat-ed by the Dubai Financial ServicesAuthority, as exclusive Arrangersfor Saudi Arabian Airlines' largestaircraft leasing deal in history.

The deal consist arranging debtand equity financing to acquire 30Airbus aircraft of A320-200 mod-el and 20 aircraft of A330-300model to be leased to Saudia.

Mr. Ammer Al-Selham, Chair-

man of the Board of Quantum In-vestment Bank Ltd added: "Quan-tum aspires to strengthen its rela-tionships with public and privateinstitutions in Saudi Arabia in thenear future and provide them withShariah-compliant financing solu-tions. We consider this as our mod-est contribution to the develop-ment of our economy and in linewith the vision of our wise leader-ship towards a stronger Saudi econ-omy and the well-being of its peo-ple." Saudi Arabian Airlines, the

national carrier of Saudi Arabia,will become the first airline in theworld to operate the Airbus A330-300 Regional, following an Oper-ating lease agreement signed withIAFC for 20 A330-300 Regionaland 30 A320ceo.

Commenting on the announce-ment Dr. Idriss Ghodbane CEO ofQuantum Investment Bank Ltdmentioned, "I would like to thankour team who has been workingfor more than a year on this trans-action. We at Quantum aim to pro-

vide our clients with the most in-novative financing solutions in aSariah compliant manner and in-troduce to our investor base se-lected landmark transactions withattractive risk return profile."

Moulay Omar Alaoui, CEO ofIAFC and also Chairman of PalmaCapital Ltd said: "We are verypleased to partner with IAFC andQuantum in this transaction. Pal-ma is bringing a strong expertise inthe aviation sector and a deepknowledge of the industry.

Qatar building boom proves a challengeFOR FOREIGN CONSTRUCTION FIRMS

Construction of the SharqCrossing, Qatar’s $12 billion bridge and underwater

tunnel link across Doha bay, wasdue to start this year to be readyfor the 2022 World Cup, but thatdeadline has slipped as the gov-ernment shifts priorities.

The Gulf state’s plans tosplurge $200 billion on infrastruc-ture as part of its 2030 develop-ment plan has lured foreign con-tractors to what promised to bebig profits, but project delays andproblems with contracts and bu-reaucracy have left many in diffi-culties and their returns uncertain.

The government, too, appearsto be reasessing its plans, althoughofficials allude to a temporary butindefinite halt to projects ratherthan cancellations. Other schemesthat have been put on hold includea multi-billion dollar chemicalsplant north of the capital Doha andDoha Grand Park, modelled onNew York’s Central Park. “Qatarhas mothballed a lot of vanityprojects,” said a source at a con-struction company operating inQatar who spoke on condition ofanonymity. “It’s indicative of howthe country’s grand aspirationshave been toned down a little bit.”Corruption allegations that have

rocked soccer’s governing bodyFIFA, have put renewed mediafocus on Qatar and its hosting ofthe 2022 football World Cup, al-though Qatari officials say they areconfident the event will go aheadas planned. The World Cup di-rectly accounts for only about $10billion of the $200 billion devel-opment program, but uncertaintyabout the tournament is adding toa testing environment for foreigncontractors in the Gulf state. WhileQatar’s vast wealth from naturalgas production has enabled it tosplash out on new infrastructure,it is doing so on strict terms. “Qatar... fears being taken for a ride byinternational consultants - that this

is a gold rush, a boom town, andcompanies are going to fleece themfor as much money as they can,”said the source. Clauses in somecontracts can make consultants fi-nancially liable for several yearsafter the project has been deliv-ered. “Construction companiesand consultants are bank-rollingthe projects for their clients,” saidthe source.

Getting their money back canbe a lengthy process. “Project ex-posure is tens of millions of dol-lars, which becomes untenable -they tie us up in their approvalsprocess ad infinitum,” said thesource. “The money trickles outeventually, but you want a fair

day’s pay for a fair day’s work.They (Qatar) try to shave it off atvarious stages.” Middle East com-panies and local joint venturesseem to fare better in Qatar be-cause they are seen as long-terminvestors in the country.

“We prefer somebody whocomes to work with us, not onlyfor one job and then leaves,” saidJalal Salhi, infrastructure affairs di-rector at Qatar’s Public Works Au-thority (Ashghal), which is incharge of the Sharq Crossing andother projects. International con-struction firms or consultants canonly apply for projects worthmore than about 200 million riyals($54.93 million), said Salhi.

Japanese shares scale 18-year peak, dollar firmSYDNEY: Asia shares were nearto eking out a sixth session of gainson Wednesday as investors stroveto stay optimistic on the chanceof a Greek debt deal, while thedollar held firm as the prospect ofU.S. rate rises swung back intoview. Japan's Nikkei led the wayas a rise of 0.5 percent cleared apeak from 2000 to reach groundlast trod in late 1996. MSCI's in-dex of Asia-Pacific shares outsideJapan ticked up 0.1 percent. Aclose around there would bringgains over the past six sessions to2.9 percent. In China, official ef-

forts to calm jittery investors seemto have steadied sentiment aftersteep losses last week. Shanghaistocks were up 0.4 percent buttrade remained volatile. Gains onWall Street had been minor, thoughstill enough to see the Nasdaq to arecord peak. The Dow ended Tues-day up 0.13 percent, while theS&P 500 added 0.06 percent andthe Nasdaq 0.12 percent. Risk ap-petites were whetted after Greece'sleftwing government expressedconfidence that parliament wouldapprove a debt deal with lenders,despite an angry reaction from

some of its own lawmakers. EUfinance ministers meet on Wednes-day to discuss whether or not toput the plan to euro zone stateheads. If it goes ahead, the Greekparliament could vote as early asthis weekend. Bond investors wereencouraged enough to push downyields on Greek 10-year debt by60 basis points, with yields in Italyand Portugal following. Yieldswent the other way in the UnitedStates following a string of gener-ally upbeat economic data andcomments from Fed GovernorJerome Powell that the economy

could be ready for interest rate in-creases in both September andDecember. That was unwelcomenews for debt markets which arepriced for only one hike this year .Yields on 10-year Treasury notesduly rose to their highest in 1-1/2weeks at 2.43 percent. "Marketsappear to have interpreted theprospect of a deal between Greeceand its creditors as removing asource of uncertainty, which mayallow the Fed to commence hikinginterest rates in September," saidanalysts at ANZ. All of whichsupported the U.S. dollar, which

pushed back above 124.00 yen andaway from a recent trough of122.46. The euro recouped a littleof its losses to reach $1.1201 butremained well short of a $1.1410top touched at the start of the week.Against the yen, the euro was downat 138.85, having fallen from 140.In commodity markets, oil pricesrebounded ahead of U.S. inventorydata expected to show strong de-mand for gasoline. U.S. crude fu-tures added 3 cents to $61.04 a bar-rel, while Brent rose 5 cents to$64.50. Gold slipped on the firmdollar to reach $1,177.20 an ounce.

Indian companies are helpingAmerican economy to recover andgrow with new investments andinnovation which makes US veryoptimistic about bilateral ties withIndia, US Ambassador to IndiaRichard Verma has said. “I am hap-py to report that Indian compa-nies are helping to power Ameri-ca’s economic growth and recov-ery with new investments and in-novation and that is why we arevery optimistic about US-Indiarelationship,” Verma said at the

launch of a new survey of 2,000buildings across India.

yourstory_us_economyThe survey, including param-

eters like security among others,was conducted by US-based solu-tion provider company Honeywelland research firm IMRB Interna-tional. Elaborating on US’s keen-ness on the bilateral relationship,Verma said,”I was in Washington

last week and had meetings withCabinet Secretariat, National Se-curity Adviser and Secretary ofState. They were really interestedin what is happening here in Indiaon bilateral relationship.”

Explaining about the progresson ties with India, he said that theUS was working hard on bilateralinvestment treaty, and that thecountry has the first ever strategicand commercial dialogue with In-dia. “We are facing challenges likeregional security, climate change,

ensuring all our populations bene-fit from inclusive growth…massurbanisation challenges that Indiawill confront in coming days, ” hesaid, according to PTI.

Regarding urban developmentin India, he said, in coming years,India will be among the world lead-ers in growth of its cities at a pacenot witnessed before and that iswhy Prime Minister’s initiative of

smart cities is so important. Cit-ing the survey, Verma said thatpeople spend 80-90 per cent oftheir lives in buildings and wantthese to be more dynamic, produc-tive and more sustainable environ-mentally. Regarding safety concernof buildings, he said, “Fire safetyis an issue. I understand (from thesurvey) that more than 50 per centof hospitals and 60 per cent of highrise building lack adequate safetymeasures. People want their build-ing to be safe” The US is working

with India for developing threesmart cities –Visakhapatnam,Ajmer and Allahabad. “Implement-ing smart building solutions canmake facilities more connected andadaptive, reduce energy and oper-ating costs, and improve the safe-ty and quality of life for occupantsand users,” President and CEO ofHoneywell Automation and Con-trol Solutions Alex Ismali said.

Indian companies arehelping American economyrecover, says US Ambassador

A bad first quarter for Canada’s economy—with one bright spotIn the second consecutive quarter showing a sharp drop in corporate profits, the auto sector looked up a bit

Canadian corporations earned$75.4 billion in operating profitsin the first quarter, down 6.0%from the previous quarter, and9.3% from the same quarter lastyear. Overall profits declined in 12of 22 industries (see quarterly op-erating profits chart below), ac-cording to Statistics Canada:

Chart showing Canadian cor-porate operating profits since Q1-2010

That’s a sharp decline in twoquarters, in large part attributableto the drop in oil prices, the ef-fects of which are still working theirway through company balancesheets. Though it was a bad quar-ter overall, the one surprise was a

return to relative health for theauto industry. Here are the high-lights:

Motor vehicles and partsmanufacturers saw a nice bounceback this quarter. Profits increased58.2% to $1.3 billion, as manufac-turers moved past fourth quarter’srecall issues. Oil and gas extrac-tion showed the biggest drop in allsectors as it declined for the fourthconsecutive quarter due to the dropin crude oil price. Profits fell 129%from the previous quarter, result-ing in a $631 million loss in thefirst quarter. Petroleum and coalproducts manufacturing also exhib-ited a significant $2.1 billion de-cline, ending in $944 million, the

lowest level in five years.In the financial sector, operat-

ing profits fell 0.2% to $19.7 bil-lion in the first quarter. Profits from

insurance companies dropped$933 million as a result of higheractuarial liability expenses fromlife, health and medical insurers,

while profits in banks and creditunions increased 11.2% to $10.7billion as a result of higher revenuefrom derivative trading.

Australia's economicgrowth is increasingly beingdriven by the major cities

Australia has been through 24years of economic growth with-out a recession. But that doesn’tmean that the spoils of this sec-ond longest period of non-reces-sionary growth in modern historyhave been shared equally across thenation. Rather, new research byPwC, shows a solid trend towardreal winners and real losers withinthe economy as the nature ofgrowth across the economy chang-es. The research also shows Aus-tralia’s economic growth is gradu-ally be concentrated more and morein certain locations. PwC says outof more than 2,200 locations acrossAustralia “close to 1 in every 5dollars of national income” is de-rived from just 10 discreet loca-tions. And here’s the list of the 10centres of gravity, with the mea-surement period taking in the min-ing boom: It’s worth noting thatthe current level of 17.9% of in-come being generated in these elitelocales means more than 80% ofAustralia’s income is generated in

other regions. But for further con-text around the impact of the movefrom 16.2% back in 2005 to 17.9%at the end of the 2014 financial year,PwC explains: It actually repre-sents a real transfer of over $27billion from locations around Aus-tralia to these 10 key locations.This is equivalent to the entireTasmanian economy and all itsemployees being transferred intothese 10 key locations.PwC said also a “key trend thatwas masked during the miningboom has been the role that CBDsand concentrations of high-value-add urban economic cluster haveplayed in driving this trend.” That’sclear in the list of winners that PwCfinds are on the rise on the back of“structural growth” (locationswhich have had 14 years of realeconomic growth). This list in-cludes the CBDs of Melbourne,Brisbane and Adelaide along withthe WA entrants such as PerthCBD, the East Pilbara and Ash-burton (naturally).


AFGHANISTANTIMES

Salman Khan’s ‘Sultan’ to clash with

Mahira Khan's ‘Raees’ on Eid 2016

It appears that two consecutiveEids will see Mahira Khan clash-ing with the Dabang Khan of Bol-lywood, Salman Khan. WhileMahira's Bin Roye is set to com-pete with Salman's Bajrangi BhaiJaan this year, her Bollywood de-but, Raees will be locking hornswith his Sultan on Eid in 2016,reported Times of India.

It is interesting to see how thelatter clash will be gripping be-cause Raees stars Salman's old ri-val, Shahrukh Khan, alongsideMahira. Directed by Gundayfamed Ali Abbas Zafar and pro-duced by Aditya Chopra, Sultan'sshooting will hit the floors this

November and is slated for releasearound Eid 2016. With Mahiraflying in and out of India, the ac-tion-thriller, Raees, directed byRahul Dholakia and produced byFarhan Akhtar, Ritesh Sidhwaniand Gauri Khan is still in the pro-cess of shooting. While it is nosecret that Mahira is the leadinglady for Raees, the heroine forSultan is yet to be decided. Thiswill not be the first time the twoKhan will be going head to headfor the blockbuster mark: A fewyears ago, King Khan's Don wasreleased with Salman's Jaanemanand well, Don undoubtedly wasfar more popular. Although rivals

since their fight in 2008, Shahr-ukh and Salman recently buriedthe hatchet as Shahrukh attendedhis sister's wedding and didn't holdback in launching the first look ofSalman's Bajrangi Bhaijaan withAamir Khan. Standing betweentwo Bollywood legends is not abad place to be in, eh? —Photocourtesy: Indian Express Stand-ing between two Bollywood leg-ends is not a bad place to be in,eh? —Photo courtesy: Indian Ex-press It is too early to say if the2016 release would turn their ta-bles again but we are certain Ma-hira would be no less of a compe-tition for Salman in Pakistan.

‘Titanic’ musiccomposerHorner dies inplane crash

LOS ANGELES: James Horner,the celebrated composer of musi-cal scores for several smash-hitmovies, including “Titanic “and“Avatar,” died on Monday in aplane crash at the age of 61, col-leagues said. Hollywood trademagazine Variety reported thecomposer died when his privateaircraft crashed in Santa Barbara,California. The Federal AviationAdministration said a single en-gine Tucano MK1 crashed at 9:30am on Monday near Cuyama, Cal-ifornia, killing pilot, the only per-son on board. The plane was reg-istered to Tucano Flyer, LLC,which lists Horner as a managingmember. The cause of the crashwas not immediately known. “Wehave lost an amazing person witha huge heart, and unbelievable tal-ent.

He died doing what he loved,”Horner’s personal assistant,Sylvia Wells, said on her Facebookpage. “Brilliant Composer JamesHorner, friend & collaborator on7 movies has tragically died in aplane crash. My heart aches forhis loved ones,” wrote directorand colleague Ron Howard onTwitter. Horner won two Oscarsfor his work on “Titanic” — onefor its theme song “My Heart WillGo On”, performed by CelineDion, and another for the film’sscore.

First person: Un, dos, tres ... Maria!When Maria arrived on set to doher first-ever play Sarah aur Am-mara, directed by Bakhtiar Ahme-din 1995 (or so), she had no cluethat she would become a star over-night, emerge as one of the mostversatile actors on the mini-screen, do a hundred plays andstill be ripe and ready for more.She goes right for the heart of thecharacter and nails it. Forthright,there is no funny business abouther, no frippery and nothingvague. Maria belongs to the gen-eration that skimmed throughPTV yet had the good fortune towork with maestros like KunwarAftab, Ayub Khawar, YawarHayat, Bakhtiar Ahmed and Nus-rat Thakur, after which privateproductions and single camerashoots took over. “The earlier daysof my career were more fulfillingthan today. The directors thenwere very particular about whatthey wanted from you and madesure they got it.” Today, she saysthings are quite different, “Direc-tors kuch batatay he nahin hain!They don’t tell me the dimensionsof a role and everything is blackor white. For me it has to be grey,with lots of layers to a character.When I don’t find a challenge inthe scripts that I get, it frustratesme and I feel desperate and edgy.Everyone on the sets works liketechnicians — a light should goup here and one over there, andwhether there are koftas on thedining table or not." They focuson grandeur and glamour, not the

emotion. Mostly, I know the lim-it of the director ke bas yahan taklekar jayega bechara! It is a direc-tor’s job to infuse a spirit betweenthe actor and the script. He is theconnector. A director doesn’t ownthe play for nothing, there has tobe something that he does whichis beyond ‘takes’. Maybe someof them are doing that, but I haveto come across that yet.” Maria

confesses that there is no secretrecipe for cracking a role. “As youperform, it unfolds itself. Yourperformance is the sum of yourviewpoint, your directors’ andhow your co-stars see your role.The experience is rewarding.When that happens, it translateson to the screen in a very differ-ent way. You make the viewersconnect with you, you make them

relate to you, laugh and cry withyou. My audiences are with mefrom the time of Bano Qudsia’sKallo and they expect that levelfrom me every time I act.”

Feeling frustrated by howthings are run these days, think-ing man’s actress Maria Wastisays that with the dearth of intel-lect in storylines arises the needto be challenged as an actress

Mirror, mirror: Howwarped beauty standardsdominate Pakistani style

"Do not read beauty magazines,they will only make you feelugly," said Mary Schmich. Chica-go Tribune columnist and cartoon-ist Mary Schmich wrote thesewords as part of general life ad-vice which was to be utilised in acommencement speech, if she wasever to be called to give one. As aself-professed beauty junkie witha career in fashion, I can say thisstatement rings true. Before Istarted working in this industry, Idon’t remember ever puttingdown a copy of any fashion/beau-ty publication without plummet-ing self-esteem. Over the courseof my career, much of the fashionindustry's glamourous veneer hasbeen peeled away and sweat,blood and tears have replaced it.It led me though to wonderwhether it’s a realisation that’sdawned on the public yet. Isn'tbeauty meant to be in the eyes ofthe beholder? Beauty is bothpowerful and subjective. Whilethere is no set standard of beautyacross the globe, there are certainideals that are shared and prod-ucts that are pushed to help youattain them — an easy and instant

task in this technological age.Across Pakistan or more accurate-ly, across the sub-continentthere’s an obsession with fair skinand light features, which personi-fies the exact opposite of whatmost South East Asians look like.Our beauty preference is evidentby celebrities with the most fanfollowing; Mahira Khan, AyeshaOmar, Ayesha Khan, Fawad Khanand even film actress Saima, backin her heyday, represent ideals ofbeauty. The popularity of actress-es like Ayesha Omar and AyeshaKhan shows us our predilectionfor fair-skinned beauties Thepopularity of actresses like Aye-sha Omar and Ayesha Khan showsus our predilection for fair-skinned beauties Semantics arealso subliminal indicators of ourchoices: in the sub-continent, a fairwoman will be praised using ad-jectives such as beautiful, prettyor gorgeous while more often thannot, anyone possessing a duskycomplexion will be termed attrac-tive. Semantics are also sublimi-nal indicators of our choices: inthe sub-continent, a fair womanwill be praised using adjectivessuch as beautiful, pretty or gor-geous while more often than not,anyone possessing a dusky com-

plexion will be termed attractive.Over the years, I’ve observed girlswith Caucasian features reign atopthe beauty pyramid simply be-cause they looked gora and notbecause they were necessarilyvery good-looking. Mirror, mir-ror on the wall... Technology alsoreally reshaped how we approachbeauty thanks to Photoshop andother digital photo editing soft-ware. In fact, editing a picture be-fore sharing it has become so com-monplace now that even phonecameras come in-built with op-tions. This has also made it easierto “colour correct,” a polite termthat refers to making yourself lookfairer without the usual grey un-dertone (this practise is also ap-plicable to makeup). Other fea-tures that have drawn greater at-tention include the eyes, cheek-bones and lips with a surge in cos-metic procedures and products toenhance them.

Bollywood is replete with ex-amples of beautiful women whosuccumbed under immense phys-ical scrutiny (or maybe they want-ed it themselves, it’s an openlydiscussed but rarely acknowl-

edged area) and went under theknife with drastic results. Actorslike Anushka Sharma (the furor’sbarely abated) and Preity Zintawho already matched these ide-als, felt the need to opt for cheekimplants and lip enhancements,which did them greater disservicethan good, or at least that’s myopinion. If it makes them happy,then my argument is invalid but Ifind it hard to believe that womenwhose livelihood depends on theirgood looks can’t identify abotched job when they see one.Sharma caused quite the contro-versy in B-town when she decid-ed to opt for lip fillers. Before (L)and after (R) —Photo courtesy:Zoombangla Sharma caused quitethe controversy in B-town whenshe decided to opt for lip fillers.Before (L) and after (R) —Photocourtesy: Zoombangla And I canonly speak for myself, but whenI look in the mirror, features I findflawed stand out more prominent-ly than the others; if I had to livewith Anushka Sharma’s carvedcheeks, I wouldn’t have had thestrength to leave my room till thechemicals naturally dissolve.

Thanks to digital manipula-tion, it is now incredibly easy toerase ‘imperfections.’

Eid lawn hits THE MARKET

KARACHI: As Ramazan gets intofull swing, many designers havebegun focusing their attention onEid collections. Zara Shahjahan isthe one of the most recent to havelaunched her Eid Lawn 2015 linefor the season, according to a pressrelease. The collection is availableat retailers across the country, thebrand’s flagship stores in Karachiand Lahore, and its e-portal.

The range comprises eightdesigns that feature experimentaljungle prints in a dynamic colourpalette with pastel undertones. Allthe pieces have been embellishedwith ethereal embroideries, exceptfor two that make use of Swarovs-

ki Elements, adding luxury, exclu-sivity and sophistication to thetrendy outfits. Eid Lawn is avail-able in unstitched three-piece suits,priced between Rs6,595 andRs8,595. Speaking about the line,Shahjahan said, “With this collec-tion, I feel we have achieved theperfect marriage of practicalityand elegance and I look forwardto sharing the collection with ourpatrons this summer.” The label’slatest offering has been designed,produced and manufactured en-tirely at the design house. “WithEid falling in the hot summermonths, it was important for usto create a collection of fashion-

able Eid apparel, which is comfort-able to wear and has the sophisti-cation to be worn at Eid gatheringsand festive occasions,” said Shah-jahan. The designer has come to beknown as an established name inbridal couture, high-street fashion,luxury prêt and lawn. With herunique fashion aesthetics that fo-cus on individuality, femininityand sophistication, she has madeher way to runways in Karachi andLahore at key fashion shows, in-cluding PFDC Sunsilk FashionWeek and Telenor Fashion Paki-stan Week held recently. She hasalso shown in countries, such asIndia and the United Kingdom.

Will Kat say no TO JACKIE CHAN?

Katrina Kaif is said to be joining Hong Kong martial artsstar Jackie Chan in the up-

coming action-adventure film"Kung Fu Yoga", but the Bolly-wood actress' representativeshared that nothing is confirmedas of yet. According to reports,

the 31-year-old actress, withroots in London, will play an In-dian professor at a Chinese uni-versity, whereas Chan will be seenas a Chinese archaeologist who en-lists her help to unearth treasuresfrom the Magadha era. However,Katrina's spokesperson shared

that the actress is yet to decide.Katrina is yet to take a deci-

sion on the film. Nothing is con-firmed as of yet," her spokesper-son said in a statement.

Earlier, there were reports thatBollywood superstar Aamir Khanwas to star in the film, which will

be directed by Stanley Tong. Lat-er, the "PK" star denied the re-ports and said his commitmenttowards "Dangal" has left him notime for another project. Mean-while, Katrina has Bollywoodfilms like "Fitoor" and "Jagga Jas-oos" in her kitty.

Kangana slaps legal notice toblock release of 'I Love NYKangana Ranaut slaps a legal no-tice on T-Series to block the re-lease of one of their old produc-tions featuring her An actor or ac-tress ideally has no say in the re-lease of a film, but it looks likeKangana Ranaut is out to prove apoint. She had been upset withthe makers of 'I Love NY' makersfor allegedly riding piggyback onher recent success and trying torelease the stuck-in-the-cansproject without her permission.Now the actress has taken legal

recourse and slapped a notice onT-Series, which produced the film,asking them withdraw the release.A copy of the notice is in hitlist'spossession. Her lawyer, RizwanSiddiquee, says: "It is very unfor-tunate that without even inform-ing my client, T-Series has unilat-

erally decided to theatrically re-lease an old film starring my cli-ent amongst others. The film wasoriginally abandoned by T-Seriesfor almost six years, as it was notup to the mark and therefore, notcommercially viable. It is obviousthat T-series is trying to cash inon the current situation for per-sonal gains and therefore, in dis-charge of their moral duty theyneither informed my client norasked her to promote the saidfilm." He goes on to say that Kan-gana had been assured that I LoveNY, in which she was paired op-posite Sunny Deol, will "never bereleased". "Despite that, the actof belatedly and unilaterally re-leasing the film amounts to will-ful breach of trust. This wouldhamper the name and image of myclient. In my notice, I have askedthem to stop the release of thefilm, as was verbally assured tomy client on numerous occa-sions." The legal notice also statesthat the actress was neither paidfor the project nor given a copyof the agreement. T-Series bossBhushan Kumar says he has nocontrol over the film's release ashe sold the film rights nearly 18months ago to Wave Cinemas. `Noactor gives permission (for re-lease) until and unless she is anIntellectual Property Rights (IPR)member of the film.

Lindsay Lohan wantsBRITISH CITIZENSHIPActress Lindsay Lohan wantsBritish citizenship and can "defi-nitely" see herself settling herepermanently. "I can definitely seemyself settling in London perma-nently," Lohan said. Asked if shewould apply for British citizen-ship, she replied: "If you'll haveme, I will."

The "Mean Girls" star, whohas endured numerous legal prob-lems and stints in rehab in the lastfew years, credits moving to Brit-ain with helping her completelychange her life, reportsfemalefirst.co.uk. "I'm in a reallygood place. I'm blessed to havebeen able to do a play in Londonand start a different way of life.New York is very fast paced andit's not like that over here for me.You grow up and change, and I'mreally happy about that, as over-all I feel a lot better. Moving herewas a new start for me and myoutlook on life is different now,"

she said. The 28-year-old staradores exploring new areas of thecity and venturing further afieldwhen she isn't working. "For me,I feel more comfortable workingfrom London. And it is beautiful.The architecture is incredible andthe parks are so nice. I also loveexploring different cities and us-ing London as a base means I cango to more places. That's reallyimportant to me," Lohan toldHELLO! Magazine.

Sofia Vergara bans gymFOR JOE MANGANIELLOActress Sofia Vergara threatenedto leave her fiance Joe Manganiel-lo if he went to the gym after heinjured his bicep badly on the setof his latest film "Magic MikeXXL".

"Sofia was there that day. Wegot back to my trailer and as soonas the door closed, she said, 'If Isee you at the gym tomorrow,

we're done! I'm going to leave you!That's it' ," Manganiello toldpeople.com.

The "True Blood" star hearda "loud rip and a pop" during hisdance routine, alerting him to theinjury.

"On take one of my finale rou-tine, which we rehearsed and re-hearsed and rehearsed and re-hearsed, my dance partner didsomething unrehearsed, and theresult was me hearing a loud ripand a pop. It was my bicep," headded.

Vergara has taken it upon her-self to provide her own gym mo-tivation in the form of a cardboardcutout of Manganiello.

Explaining where the cutoutmaterialised from, she said: "Wewere moving and I found it in hisgarage, and I'm like, 'I'm gonna takethis!'. And (Joe) was like, 'Whatare you going to do with that?' So,I put it in the cardio room."


AFGHANISTANTIMES

Sri Lanka drawup plan to bluntYasir threat

In the lead up to the first Testbetween Pakistan and Sri Lanka, all the talk revolved around

how Misbah-ul-Haq's men wouldcounter the threat of their arch-nemesis Rangana Herath.

But as the two teams prepareto battle it out at the P. Sara Ovalon Thursday, the limelight is onanother spinner, Pakistan's YasirShah, who by now has become the‘leggie of the hour’ with praisecoming in from all corners.

Yasir claimed seven secondinnings wickets in a spectaculardisplay of leg-spin bowling asPakistan crushed Sri Lanka by 10wickets in the first Test to go 1-0up in the three-match series atGalle on Sunday.

Yasir, who had picked up twowickets in the first innings, took acareer-best 7-76 in the second be-fore Pakistan chased down the 90-run victory target in a little over11 overs to register their first Testwin in Sri Lanka since 2006.

And now just as all of Paki-stan's ‘home work’ was focussedon neutralising Herath, Sri Lankatoo have only one man on theirminds. Iri Lanka opener KaushalSilva, who scored a brilliant 125in the first innings of the GalleTest, said his team had a formulato unsettle Yasir. “I think whenyou have a good bowler, you haveto put pressure on him to receiveloose balls,” Silva said. “As bats-men, we have to put him underpressure, because if we play thesame way, he'll keep putting theball in that same spot. If he does

that, it's difficult to play thestrokes we want.

“If we use our feet, we shouldbe able to get singles and twos,and the odd four. We've got to ro-tate the strike. If we do that, hecan't settle down and bowl at onebatsman.” Silva, who made hisTest debut against Pakistan in2011, said Yasir's accuracy andsubtle change in pace had madescoring against him a tough pros-pect.

“We have to wrestle the badballs from him.”

“His accuracy is excellent, andthe other thing is that he bowlsquite quickly. He's usually in the85-90kph range, which is fasterthan most spinners. He does usevariations but he also uses speedwell. He bowls his legbreak fastoften, and slow sometimes - thegoogly is the same. He does usethe flipper often as well.”

The sporting Oval pitch, re-garded as the finest in Sri Lanka,has produced a winner in eightsuccessive Tests since 2005, andanother decisive result is on thecards. It will make for an intrigu-ing contest as the hosts attemptto pin Pakistan's striker.

Pakistan, who lost by sevenwickets when they played at theOval in 2009, will bank on theirimpressive showing in the firstTest to deal another blow to SriLanka. They will now have to doit against a wounded Herath whowill be looking to play a muchmore incisive role after being up-staged by Yasir.

Brazillian, aged 43, retired 15 months ago wants to help Brazil's second-division club he is president of.

World Cup winner Rivaldo is con-sidering coming out of retirementat the age of 43 to help pull strug-gling Mogi Mirim off the bottomof the Brazilian second division.Rivaldo, who is president of theprovincial club, said he would trainregularly with the squad and mightplay in some matches, although heplayed down the idea of a full-blown comeback. Mogi Mirim havetaken only three points from theiropening eight games in the Brazil-ian Serie B and have failed to win amatch. "Once again, I will sacrificemy family for the good of the clubbut I hope to see our team in a moreworthy situation in the competi-tion," the former Barcelona, ACMilan and Deportivo La Corunamidfielder said in a statement. In-teractive: Brazuca, story of the foot-ball "I stopped played profession-ally 15 months ago but, if my kneeis okay, I could help in some games,but that is something the trainingsessions will help me decide." Ri-valdo, who helped Brazil win the2002 World Cup, added: "I want tohelp the players get out of this dif-ficult period, because I don't thinkour team should be strugglingagainst relegation. We are goodenough to be, at least, in the middleof the table. "I'm not coming backto play regularly but as I'm a play-

er with a valid contract, I want tohelp the players get out of thiscomplicated situation." Top Bra-

zilian footballers are often able toplay into their late thirties and ear-ly forties in their homeland, helped

by the modest standards of domes-tic football. Romario played for firstdivision Vasco da Gama at the age

of 41 and goal-keeper Rogerio Ceniis still playing for Sao Paulo, also inthe first division, at 42.

USA, England reachWorld Cup quarter-finalsEngland come from a goal down to beat Norway while the US beat Colombia who had goal-keeper sent off.

The US capitalised on Colombiagoal-keeper Catalina Perez's dis-missal to earn a 2-0 win and setup a women's World Cup quar-ter-final against China, while En-gland continue to build up a headof steam after coming from behindto beat Norway. England's rewardfor fighting back in sweltering con-ditions to record a 2-1 victory is alast-eight tie against hosts Cana-da in Vancouver on Saturday.Record turnout at women's worldcup opener The US will face Chi-na a day earlier in a repeat of the1999 final but they had to workfor their win at the Common-wealth Stadium in Edmonton and

only took control of the game withthe sending off of Perez after half-time. The game turned the Amer-icans' way shortly after half-timewhen Alex Morgan was broughtdown just inside the area byPerez, who was then sent off.

Abby Wambach missed thepenalty but the opening goal ar-rived in the 53rd minute whensubstitute goal-keeper StefanyCastano failed to deal with a near-post shot from Morgan. The USdoubled their advantage 13 min-utes later when Megan Rapinoewas brought down in the box andthis time Carli Lloyd was giventhe penalty-taking duties and

made no mistake from the spot.Earlier at Landsdowne Stadium,where the temperature hoveredaround 40C in the first half, Nor-way's Solveig Gulbrandsen got herhead to a corner at the near postand flicked the ball in off the barto give her team the lead in the54th minute.

Blog: Women's right to playEngland equalised from a cor-

ner in the 61st minute when cap-tain Steph Houghton outmuscledtwo defenders to score with a fineheader of her own. Defender LucyBronze then blasted in the winnerin the 76th minute to book En-gland's spot in the quarter-finals.

Federer on coursefor eighth Halle Open titleWorld number two reaches 10th final in Halle after straight-sets win over big-serving Karlovic.

World number two Roger Federeredged past Ivo Karlovic 7-6, 7-6to reach the Halle Open final forthe 10th time where he will faceItalian Andreas Seppi, who wentthrough when opponent Kei Nish-ikori retired injured. The Swisstop-seed, eyeing his eighth title inthe grasscourt Wimbledon war-mup event, held serve throughoutbut was taken to two tiebreakshaving failed to secure a singlebreak point against the Croatian'spowerful serve. "It is alwayscomplicated to play against Ivobut I remained calm when it mat-tered," Federer told reporters. "Iwas lucky in the first round

[needing three sets against Phil-ipp Kohlschreiber] so I am hap-py to have made the final." It wasalways going to be a slugfest withKarlovic having fired a record 45aces past Tomas Berdych on Fri-day. The Croat did not disappoint,racking up 10 aces halfwaythrough the first set. A sensation-al backhand return in the openingtiebreak gave Federer the slightedge he needed on his opponent'sserve and a double fault from theCroatian handed him the first set.

The Swiss again had to staypatient, but won two points onthe Croatian's serve in the secondtiebreak and sealed his win with a

backhand volley after one hour and28 minutes.

Seppi advanced to his secondfinal of the year after Zagreb whenJapan's Nishikori, the secondseed, retired injured early in thefirst set.

It was the second time in twodays that the Italian had gonethrough thanks to an injury retire-ment, after he reached the last-fouron Friday when France's GaelMonfils conceded in the secondset.

Nishikori, who was movingpoorly with his left leg heavilybandaged, lasted only five gamesbefore quitting.

Lewis Hamilton seized pole po-sition for the Austrian Grand Prixin a damp qualifying session thatsaw both the Formula One worldchampion and Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg skid off ontheir final laps. The pole wasHamilton's seventh in eight races- the same number he managed inall of last season - and 45th of hiscareer, taking him to third equalwith Sebastian Vettel on the all-time list behind Michael Schuma-cher and Ayrton Senna. It also

completed a year of dominationby Mercedes, with Brazilian Fe-lipe Massa's pole for Williams inAustria last June the last time anydriver from outside the team hasstarted from the top slot. Feature:The making of Lewis Hamilton "Itwas quite a difficult qualifyingsession for everyone because ofthe track conditions," said Hamil-ton, who spun off at turn one ashe started his final quick lap on adrying track after morning rain. "I

was pushing that bit extra on thenext run and just locked the rears."Rosberg, who was two tenthsslower than Hamilton going intohis final lap, pushed just a bit toohard and careered across the run-off and into the gravel just as itseemed he was going to be quick-er. "I went on the astroturf out ofthe second to last corner. Maybethat was still a bit wet or some-thing or I just overdid it after that,I'm not sure. I just lost it thereinto the last corner," said the Ger-

man. "I knew I had to go for it."Mixed day for Ferrari Ferra-

ri's Vettel will line up in third placewith Massa fourth for Williamsand 2015 Le Mans 24 Hours win-ner Nico Hulkenberg fifth forForce India. Mercedes-poweredcars filled five of the top six slotsat a 'power' circuit. Ferrari's KimiRaikkonen failed to get throughthe first phase of qualifying andwas 18th before penalties are ap-plied to others ahead of the Finn.

Tony Bellew faces IvicaBacurin in Liverpool afterLubos Suda's withdrawal

Racehorses gettingquicker accordingto new study

Frank Schleck out of Tourde France due to knee injury

Racehorses are getting faster, ac-cording to new research that hasovertaken notions of them reach-ing the limit of their galloping abil-ity.

A study of 616,084 race timesrun by more than 70,000 horsesshows that winning speeds haveincreased greatly since 1850. Andmore recent data from 1997-2012confirms that the finish line is notin sight yet. Improvements in per-formance are still on-going, de-spite heavier handicap weights, itis claimed. Bet nowBet £5 get £20free cientists are not sure whetherthe quickening pace, largely driv-en by sprinters, is due to breed-ing, better training, jockey tactics,or a combination of factors. Earli-er research had indicated that thor-oughbred racehorses may havereached a barrier preventing themfrom becoming any quicker. Butthese studies only focused on asmall number of middle and long

distance elite races and did not takeinto account factors such asground softness, according to ex-perts from the University of Ex-eter. Dr Patrick Sharman, from theuniversity's Centre for Ecologyand Conservation, said: "Therehas been a general consensus overthe last 30 years that horse speedsappeared to be stagnating. "Ourstudy shows that this is not thecase and, by using a much largerdataset than previously analysed,we have revealed that horses havebeen getting faster. Interestingly,both the historical and current rateof improvement is greatest oversprint distances. The challengenow is to find out whether thispattern of improvement has a ge-netic basis."

Slower middle and long dis-tance speed improvements couldindicate that horses are reaching aperformance limit over these dis-tances, say the researchers. Tony Bellew will face Ivica Ba-

curin at Liverpool’s Echo Arena,live on Sky Sports 1 on Friday,after original opponent LubosSuda was forced to withdraw fromthe bout. The 32-year-old Ever-tonian was scheduled to meethard-hitting Czech fighter Sudawho boasts 25 knockouts from 33wins. But Bellew, who beat bitterrival Nathan Cleverly last Novem-ber, will now face Croat Bacurinas he continues his quest to land atitle shot against IBF championYoan Pablo Hernandez. Get SkySports Get a Sky Sports passBacurin, 32, has more ring experi-ence than Bellew, having been in-

volved in 30 bouts during his sev-en-year professional career. Hetravels to Liverpool on the backof four consecutive knockout winsand has previously shared a ringwith some high-calibre fighters in-cluding Detroit heavyweight Jona-thon Banks. At the end of last year,Bacurin went the distance withGermany’s Francesco Pianeta,who challenges Russlan Chagaevfor the WBA heavyweight titlenext month. Bellew’s fight withBacurin is part of an action-packedcard featuring Callum Smith vChristopher Rebrasse, RockyFielding v Brian Vera and MartinMurray v George Beroshvili.

Trek Factory Racing rider FrankSchleck will miss next month'sTour de France as he continues tobattle a knee injury. Luxembourg’sSchleck, older brother of 2010Tour winner Andy, has been strug-gling since crashing in the Liege-Bastogne-Liege race earlier in theseason. The 35-year-old sat outthe closing time trial at the Tourde Switzerland last week in a bidto air his recovery but he has de-

cided he will not be fit in time forthe start of the annual showpieceon Saturday, July 4. Bet nowBet £5get £20 free “This is a big disap-pointment for me, of course, but ithad been in the air for a while now”,Schleck told his team’s official web-site. “The pain never really lessenedand the only way to let it heal wouldhave been to take complete rest. Itwas a catch-22: if I wanted to makethe Tour team, I had to rest.

THURSDAY . JUNE 25 . 2015-Saratan 04, 1394 H.SVol:IX Issue No:319 Price: Afs.15

KABUL: Iranian deputy ambas-sador to the UN has said that Te-hran supports peace, security,economic and social developmentin neighboring Afghanistan. Ac-cording to Tehran Times, GholamHossein Dehqani made the re-marks in his speech at a UN Secu-rity Council meeting the other day. Iran considers security in Afghan-istan as security in its own bor-ders, he stated. He said that Iran

India has offered a fellowship pro-gram to Afghan doctors to enablethem provide better health servic-es in the country. Around 12 doc-tors from Afghanistan are pres-ently undergoing fellowship pro-gram at Sir Ganga Ram Instituteof Post Graduate Medical Educa-tion and Research in India. TheAfghan doctors are receiving train-ing in different specialties like car-diac, cosmetic and reconstructionsurgery, chest medicine and livertransplant. The three-year pro-gram includes research and writ-ing thesis. Shahzada, a cardiolo-gist from Afghanistan, said thathis country needs medical expertsto deal with the rising health re-lated cases. Health Sector hasbeen destroyed due to decades ofwar in our country. We do nothave new technologies; our pa-tients face lots of challenges. I amdoing practice in cardiac surgery.When I return back, I will be thefirst or second cardiac surgeon inAfghanistan because there hasnever been any centre in cardiacsurgery, said Sehzada. Mycountry needs specialist doctorsin Afghanistan. When I will goback to Afghanistan, I will be ableto practice what I have learned inIndia, said Dr. AsadullahKatawazai, a cosmetic surgeon.The students have to pay Rs.45,000 annually for enrolment inthe fellowship program. AbdulWali Khan, a specialist in chestmedicine, is keen to serve in Af-ghanistan after completion of thetraining. Paktika is a very coldregion in Afghanistan where tem-perature falls below minus 20 de-grees and most of the people suf-fer from respiratory diseases. TheGovernment of Afghanistan hassent us to India to become moreproficient in treating chest ail-ments, he said. Many people inAfghanistan suffer from tubercu-losis, asthma and pneumonia. Asthere are no chest specialists avail-able, patients have to face a lot ofchallenges. India is keen to helpAfghanistan rebuild its infrastruc-ture and manpower in specializedjobs. We had a meeting abouttwo weeks ago with the AfghanAmbassador and we are in favourof having collaboration with Af-ghanistan in promoting the healthsector. (ANI)

The Afghan Air Force (AAF) tookdelivery of its fourth and finalLockheed Martin C-130H Her-cules transport aircraft during aceremony at Hamid Karzai Inter-national Airport (IAP) in Kabul on20 June. The arrival of the formerUS Air Force aircraft from LittleRock Air Force Base in Arkansasmarks the end of deliveries, whichbegan in mid-2013. These aircraftwill now be used by the AfghanNational Security Forces for inter-nal cargo and troop transportation.The United States' efforts in re-constituting the AAF's fixed-wingair mobility capability have beensomewhat problematic. Original-ly, the plan was to replace the So-viet-era Antonov An-32 'Cline'transports that dated back to be-fore the Taliban government withrefurbished Alenia AermacchiG222/C-27A airframes. That pro-gramme, however, was axed in ear-ly 2014 amid much acrimony be-tween the Italian manufacturer andthe US Department of Defense(DoD) over the suitability of thetwin-engined turboprops to per-

A C-130 Hercules taxis at Hamid Karzai InternationalAirport, Kabul, on 20 June. The Afghan Air Force has now

received all four of its C-130s, which it will use for cargo andtroop transport throughout the country. Source: US DoD.

Afghanistan receives fullcomplement of C-130 airlifters

form the mission in the 'hot andhigh' conditions of Afghanistan.While the DoD said that the air-craft were not up to the task, Ale-nia maintained that the issue waswith poor on-site support facili-ties and a lack of literacy among

the AAF pilots and maintainersthat were beyond its control. Ei-ther way, more than USD600 mil-lion had been spent on the projectbefore it was cancelled with 16G222/C-27A aircraft being aban-doned at Hamid Karzai IAP. The

announcement that Afghanistan wasto get the four-engined C-130 in-stead was meant to herald a freshnew start for the effort to equip theAAF with a fixed-wing air mobilitycapability. However, in July 2014the Special Inspector General forAfghanistan Reconstruction recom-mended that deliveries be halted attwo aircraft, as these were beingunderutilised and there were unre-solved problems with support andtraining. Concerns regarding the fi-nancial and technological challengeof maintaining the C-130s have alsoprompted the Afghan governmentto request India covers the cost ofupgrades to six of its ageing An-32transport aircraft in Ukraine. Thearrival of the fourth and final C-130into Hamid Karzai IAP would ap-pear to suggest that such concernshave now been addressed. Even so,NATO sources have suggested thatbecause of the C-130's size and com-plexity it could take nearly threeyears before Afghan pilots and creware ready to operate the aircraftwithout support from internationaladvisors.

Indiagrants 3-yearfellowshipprogram toAfghan doctors

Iran supportspeace, security inAfghanistan: Envoy

has always condemned terroristgroups acts, noting that coopera-tion with these groups run con-trary to establishment of peace inAfghanistan. Iran s policy of supporting theAfghan government has notchanged and will not change andthe Afghan government can con-front security challenges in thecountry and Iran will spare nohelp in this regard, he stated. Healso described drug trafficking asthe main source of revenue for theterrorist and extremist groups. The remarks come as recently areport by the Wall Street Journalaccused Iran of providing moneyand weapons to the Taliban mili-tants in Afghanistan in a bid toprevent the growth of Daesh here.

However, the allegations wererejected by Iranian Ambassador inKabul, as he termed it baseless.

KABUL: At least 37 armed Tali-ban fighters were killed and 41others were wounded in differentcrackdowns within past 24 hours.

In a press release issued here,Ministry of Interior (MoI) saidthat Afghan National Police(ANP) in collaboration with Af-ghan National Army (ANA) andNational Directorate of Security

(NDS) has conducted clearanceoperations against insurgents indifferent areas of Parwan, Takhar,Kunduz, Badakhshan and Hel-mand provinces. In these opera-tions 37 rebels were taken out and41 others injured. Four insurgentswere arrested and handed over tothe relevant body for interroga-tion. At least 32 landmines werealso discovered and defused inUruzgan, Paktia and Helmandprovinces. ANP recovered hugecache of weapons as well in theoperations, the ministry claimed.

37 insurgents killedin raids

AT News Report

KARACHI: At least 830 peoplehave perished in Sindh since Sat-urday as the province languishesin the grips of a searing heatwave.

The total death toll at Kara-chi's Jinnah Postgraduate MedicalCentre has risen to 295 since Sat-urday. The combined death toll atAbbasi Shaheed Hospital and oth-er Karachi Municipal Corporation-run hospitals has peaked at 140.Civil Hospital Karachi has seen110 dead, while 58 have perishedat Liaquat National Hospital. TheEmergency Cardiac Centre in ShahFaisal Colony has seen at least fivedeaths since Saturday, and SindhGovernment Hospital Liaquatabadand New Karachi have seen 10 and23 dead respectively. Take a look:Relentless heatwave takes anoth-er 337 lives On Sunday, at least136 deaths were reported, whileon Monday 309 were reporteddead. On Tuesday, 311 were re-ported dead in Karachi while 26died in other parts of Sindh. Tem-peratures in Karachi are expectedto peak at 36 degrees Celsius onWednesday as a relatively cool seabreeze started blowing on Tues-day evening. The weather outlookfor Sindh according to the Paki-stan Meteorological Department ishot and humid in most parts of theprovince, while rain is expected invarious parts of Mirpurkhas divi-sion and isolated areas in Sukkur,Larkana, Hyderabad and Karachi.Winds have shifted to the south-

west, blowing cooler air into theport city from the Arabian Sea, andthe Pakistani Met Office has pre-dicted rain, which would bring low-er temperatures. The governmenthas demanded urgent action to dealwith the crisis, and the adminis-tration in Sindh province declaredWednesday a public holiday toencourage people to stay indoorsout of the sun. Some residents onTuesday took to hosing each oth-er down with water to avoid col-lapsing from heat stroke. A stateof emergency is in force in hospi-tals which are struggling to copewith the 3,000 people affected byheatstroke and dehydration. Thechange in weather will come aswelcome relief for the economichub, where maximum temperatureshave hovered around 44-45 degreesCelsius since Saturday. The Na-tional Disaster Management Au-thority has been setting up dedi-cated heatstroke treatment centresto try to cope with the volume ofpatients.

some of residential plots allocated for teachers...

Documents