Warning: Undefined array key "rbname" in /data/rantburg.com/www/rantburg/pgrecentorg.php on line 14
Hello !

Afghanistan

Afghan Forces Take Security Lead in Helmand

2011-07-21

[Tolo News] Afghan forces on Wednesday officially took over security responsibilities of Lashkargah, the capital of Helmand ...an Afghan province populated mostly by Pashtuns, adjacent to Injun country in Pak Balochistan... province, from British troop based on security transition initiative. Helmand governor warned that full security transition to Afghan lead would be impossible as long as security is not maintained in border regions of the province. Governor Gulab Mangal said: "We hope security is ensured in borders so that terrorist cross-border activities, including enemy infiltration and drug smuggling are prevented; otherwise, it wouldn't be possible to have the transition done in all Helmand districts." "I want to announce that $765 will be spent in Helmand for an improvement in security in the next three years which will be unprecedented in the history," Security Transition Chief Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai told news hounds. Afghan forces have already taken over security responsibility in the relatively peaceful province of Bamyan province and Mehtarlam, capital of Laghman province. After Lashkargah, foreign forces will hand over security responsibility of Kabul, Panjshir, Herat city and Mazar-e- Sharif city to Afghan forces as part of the first phase of security transition. The hand over is seen as a critical step in a transition of security lead before foreign troops end combat operations in 2014. Afghan forces will take full security responsibilities by the end of 2014 when foreign forces will leave the country. Britannia has around 10,000 troops in Afghanistan most of them based in Helmand province. During a recent visit to Afghanistan David Cameron ... has stated that he is certainly a big Thatcher fan, but I don't know whether that makes me a Thatcherite, which means he's not. Since he is not deeply ideological he lacks core principles and is easily led. He has been described as certainly not a Pitt, Elder or Younger, but he does wear a nice suit so maybe he's Beau Brummel ... , British Prime Minister announced that 1,000 British troops would be pulled out by the end of 2012. With the security transition to Afghan forces, violence has also increased in some parts of the country and Taliban have attacked some Afghan key officials. Recently Ahmad Wali Karzai, President Karzai's younger brother and head of Kandahar provincial council, Jan Mohammad Khan, advisor to President Karzai and former governor of Oruzgan and Mohammad Hashim Watanwal, a member of parliament have been killed in attacks claimed by the Taliban.

Link

India-Pakistan

Afghan, Pakistan presidents meet amid new tensions

2011-07-20

[Dawn] Afghanistan's Caped President Hamid Maybe I'll join the Taliban Karzai ... A former Baltimore restaurateur, now 12th and current President of Afghanistan, displacing the legitimate president Rabbani in December 2004. He was installed as the dominant political figure after the removal of the Taliban regime in late 2001 in a vain attempt to put a Pashtun face on the successor state to the Taliban. After the 2004 presidential election, he was declared president regardless of what the actual vote count was. He won a second, even more dubious, five-year-term after the 2009 presidential election. His grip on reality has been slipping steadily since around 2007, probably from heavy drug use... held talks with his Pak counterpart, Asif Ali President Ten Percent Zardari, ... sticky-fingered husband of the late Benazir Bhutto ... on Tuesday amid heightened tension between the neighbours and as some Afghan politicians raised fears that Pakistain's spy agency was behind recent liquidations. Gunmen killed a top adviser to Karzai and a member of the Afghan parliament in Kabul on Sunday in an attack claimed by the Taliban, but some politicians accused the Pakistain military's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) spy agency of being involved. A senior Pak security official in Islamabad said the allegations were "a figment of someone's sick mind". The two leaders spoke about the economic and security situation faced by the neighbours and agreed that they should not let anyone disrupt security in either country, Karzai's palace said in a statement. Zardari also offered his condolences to Karzai on the death of his brother, Ahmad Wali Karzai, a powerful and controversial leader in southern Afghanistan who was assassinated by a senior bodyguard in his Kandahar home last week.

Link

Afghanistan

Karzai Aide Assassins Had Contacts with Pakistan: Interior Minister

2011-07-20

[Tolo News] Assassins of a close advisor to President Hamid Maybe I'll join the Taliban Karzai ... A former Baltimore restaurateur, now 12th and current President of Afghanistan, displacing the legitimate president Rabbani in December 2004. He was installed as the dominant political figure after the removal of the Taliban regime in late 2001 in a vain attempt to put a Pashtun face on the successor state to the Taliban. After the 2004 presidential election, he was declared president regardless of what the actual vote count was. He won a second, even more dubious, five-year-term after the 2009 presidential election. His grip on reality has been slipping steadily since around 2007, probably from heavy drug use... were having phone contacts with some inside the country and Pakistain, Interior Minister to parliament on Tuesday. Interior Minister General Besmellah Mohammadi said Islamic fascisti are making efforts to kill high-ranking and influential officials. On Tuesday Interior Ministry and Deputy Director of Intelligence organization were called over to the House of Representatives to provide answers about the latest killings of senior Afghan officials, including Jan Mohammad Khan, a close aide of Karzai and Mohammad Hashim Watanwal, an MP who represented Oruzgan in the house. Jan Mohammad Khan was rubbed out by Dost Mohammad Khan an assailant who was 22- year-old and at the same time Mohammad Hashim Watanwal was killed by another attacker, General Besmellah Mohammadi said. "We have obtained their cell phones and the last calls they received were from Pakistain and some other provinces inside the country," Interior Ministers told MPs. Jan Mohammad Khan and Mr Watanwal were killed a late-night thug attack on his home on Sunday this week. The Taliban grabbed credit for the attack. The deaths came more than a week after President Karzai's brother, Ahmad Wali Karzai, liquidation by one of his bodyguards at his home. On Monday President Karzai's Spokesperson told a news conference that targeted and serial killings of high-profile Afghan officials wouldn't go without Dire Revenge™. Some politicians also expressed concern about increasingly growing province at a time as Afghan cops have begun to take security lead in some of the handover regions. "The incident has caused widespread concern among the parliamentarians," Speaker of the House Abdul Raouf Ibrahimi said. Some MPs representing Bamyan, the province now under the lead of Afghan cops, voiced concern about possible security threats. Fakour Beheshti, an MP representing Bamyan province, said: "There are 800 Afghan forces stationed in Bamyan. It should be doubled. Bamyan is one of the stable areas in Afghanistan and has occasionally been vulnerable from Baghlan province."

Link

Afghanistan

Afghan Targeted Killings Couldn't Go without Dire Revenge™: Govt

2011-07-19

Afghan government would avenge the serial and assassinations of high-ranking Afghan officials and tribal elders, President Karzai's Spokesman said on Sunday. Oh, noze! Not a Cycle of Violence™! Speaking at a presser, Karzai's Spokesperson Waheed Omar said the liquidation of our national figures and tribal elders is part of a big plot by the enemies of Afghanistan. Mr Omar said the Taliban and their affiliates want to disrupt the security transition process, but the process will continue despite all challenges. "The Taliban and their supporters who are the cause of the presence of international forces in Afghanistan are making efforts to prevent Afghans from taking the security lead," Mr Omar said. Just a couple of days after the liquidation of President Karzai's younger brother, Ahmad Wali Karzai, a close advisor of President Karzai, Jan Mohammad Khan and Mohammad Hashim Watanwal, who represented Oruzgan province in the parliament, were killed in a late-night attack on Sunday as part of the Taliban's assassination campaign. Karzai's Spokesman described the murdered figures as the servants of the people of Afghanistan, saying the government is committed to talks with the Taliban, but soon killers of Afghan national figures will have to pay back. "We are committed to fight against those who carry out this sort of cowardly actions, so that Dire Revenge™ of the death of elders and protectors of Afghanistan is taken," he said. "But again we want peace and stability in Afghanistan and we won't turn back on the way to peace in the country." Meanwhile, ...back at the hoedown, Bob finally got to dance with Sally... officials in the ministry of interior affairs said despite growing security challenges security handover process will be implemented. A spokesperson for Interior Affairs Ministry, Sediq Sediqi, said: "Police forces are prepared to undertake the responsibilities. And Afghan police forces are committed to prove they are capable enough to take this big responsibility." Once again Karzai's Office called on the United States to step up efforts to neutralise and dismantle krazed killers' safe havens on the other side of Afghan border. "If tomorrow the United States can eliminate krazed killer safe havens and prevent snuffies to infiltrate into Afghan territory, the hostilities will lose soul and Afghan people know at best how to deal with them without tanks and planes," Mr Omar said. The remarks came as Bamyan became the first province to be handed over to Afghan forces. Meanwhile, ...back at the hoedown, Bob finally got to dance with Sally... some Afghan politicians see the liquidation of senior government officials controversial. Concerned about the new wave of assassinations over the past weeks, parliamentarians urged investigation into the incidents.

Link

Afghanistan

Taliban claim murder of senior Karzai adviser

2011-07-19

[Dawn] The Taliban on Monday claimed the overnight killing of one of Afghanistan's Caped President Hamid Maybe I'll join the Taliban Karzai's ... A former Baltimore restaurateur, now 12th and current President of Afghanistan, displacing the legitimate president Rabbani in December 2004. He was installed as the dominant political figure after the removal of the Taliban regime in late 2001 in a vain attempt to put a Pashtun face on the successor state to the Taliban. After the 2004 presidential election, he was declared president regardless of what the actual vote count was. He won a second, even more dubious, five-year-term after the 2009 presidential election. His grip on reality has been slipping steadily since around 2007, probably from heavy drug use... key advisers, who died along with a politician in an attack on his home in Kabul. Jan Mohammad Khan, the former governor of southern Uruzgan province and a key ally of the embattled president, was killed along with an MP for Uruzgan. "We killed Jan Mohammad Khan. We made him pay for his deeds," Taliban's front man, Zabihullah Mujahed, told AFP by telephone from Qazi's guesthouse an undisclosed location. "We dunnit and we're glad! Glad, I tells yez!" Khan, a long-standing Karzai ally and key tribal chieftain, was killed in the attack that the interior ministry said was carried out by two assailants. The gunnies targeted the house late Sunday and a standoff lasted until the early hours of Monday. One police officer and the two assailants were also killed, the interior ministry said. The liquidation comes less than a week after the president's half-brother Ahmed Wali Karzai was rubbed out by a close friend at his home in the southern province of Kandahar, in an attack also claimed by the Taliban. A senior government official speaking anonymously told AFP that Khan's death was a major blow for the US-backed leader. "He was very close to the president. His death is as important as Ahmad Wali Karzai's death," the official said. Just hours before Sunday's attack, a ceremony was held in central Bamyan province marking the start of the transition of security duties from NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Originally it was a mutual defense pact directed against an expansionist Soviet Union. In later years it evolved into a mechanism for picking the American pocket while criticizing the style of the American pants... forces to Afghans, a process aimed at leaving the country free of foreign troops by 2014. Sunday was also the last day in Afghanistan for top US commander General David Petraeus. Experts say Khan had a reputation for brutality and double-dealing with tribal rivals, falsely accusing some of being Taliban, and Dutch forces taking over Uruzgan operations in 2006 insisted on his removal as governor. According to the independent website afghan-bios.info, Khan's nephew runs a 3,000-strong militia in Uruzgan that he had inherited from his uncle. Khan beat feet a previous liquidation attempt on August 4 when a cycle of violence bomb went kaboom! by his convoy in the southern province.

Link

Afghanistan

Gunmen Kill Senior Karzai Aide, Afghan MP in Kabul

2011-07-18

[Tolo News] Unknown gunnies stormed the house of a senior aide to President Karzai, Jan Mohammad, in Kabul killing him and an Afghan MP representing Oruzgan, police officials said. The gunnies killed Jan Mohammad Mohammadi, a senior advisor to President Hamid Maybe I'll join the Taliban Karzai ... A former Baltimore restaurateur, now 12th and current President of Afghanistan, displacing the legitimate president Rabbani in December 2004. He was installed as the dominant political figure after the removal of the Taliban regime in late 2001 in a vain attempt to put a Pashtun face on the successor state to the Taliban. After the 2004 presidential election, he was declared president regardless of what the actual vote count was. He won a second, even more dubious, five-year-term after the 2009 presidential election. His grip on reality has been slipping steadily since around 2007, probably from heavy drug use... and former governor of Oruzgan province, along with Mohammad Hashim Watanwal, Member of Parliament representing Oruzgan province. The incident happened in Kabul's district 3 at around 08:00 pm local time. Afghan cops were immediately deployed to the area and festivities between the attackers and the Afghan cops continued for four hours until the siege was ended. Unconfirmed reports said three Afghan police soldiers were maimed in the incident, but the exact number of Islamic fascisti killed is unclear. Witnesses say the gunnies killed several of Mr Jan Mohammad's security guards before breaking into the house. The Taliban grabbed credit for the attack. Some of the similar recent attacks have also been claimed by the Taliban. The attack comes as NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Originally it was a mutual defense pact directed against an expansionist Soviet Union. In later years it evolved into a mechanism for picking the American pocket while criticizing the style of the American pants... has started security transition to Afghan forces amid concerns about the capabilities of the Afghan cops. The Taliban have recently shifted tactics by targeting Afghan officials and influential leaders. Last week Ahmad Wali Karzai, the leader of Kandahar provinvial council and the half-brother of the Afghanistan's Caped President, was rubbed out by his bodyguard and the Taliban grabbed credit. Following the liquidation in Kandahar, the governor of Helmand province Gulab Mangal also survived an IED attack. The Taliban continue their attacks as Afghanistan's Caped President Hamid Karzai still insists on making a peace deal with the group.

Link

Afghanistan

Suicide Attack in Ahmad Wali Karzai's Remembrance in Kandahar

2011-07-15

[Tolo News] A jacket wallah detonated his explosives at a remembrance for President Karzai's brother Ahmad Wali Karzai in southern Kandahar province, local officials said. Two people were killed and 17 others were hurt in the incident, police officials said. The suicide bomber had placed explosives in his turban before making his way into the mosque. Hekmatullah Hekmat, head of Kandahar Clerics Council has been killed in the attack, officials added. The incident took place in Kandahar central mosque where Afghan officials gathered to remember Ahmad Wali Karzai. In a separate incident in Loya Wiala area three non-combatants were killed and one other was injured after a roadside kaboom blast hit a police convoy. On Wednesday the body of Ahmad Wali Karzai, half-brother of President Hamid Maybe I'll join the Taliban Karzai ... A former Baltimore restaurateur, now 12th and current President of Afghanistan, displacing the legitimate president Rabbani in December 2004. He was installed as the dominant political figure after the removal of the Taliban regime in late 2001 in a vain attempt to put a Pashtun face on the successor state to the Taliban. After the 2004 presidential election, he was declared president regardless of what the actual vote count was. He won a second, even more dubious, five-year-term after the 2009 presidential election. His grip on reality has been slipping steadily since around 2007, probably from heavy drug use... and head of Kandahar provincial council, was buried in Karz area of Dand district in Kandahar province. President Karzai, high ranking government officials, politicians and thousands of others attended the funeral ceremony. Mr Karzai's special security team had tightened security around the compound during the funeral ceremony. Some helicopters could be seen circling overhead. President Karzai, after laying his brother's body in grave, called on the Taliban to stop killing their Afghan brothers. "Along the convoy of these deaders, peace efforts will continue and will even become stronger. Every problem in this country is because of insecurity and war. Our intention for peace and stability in Afghanistan take more strength now," President Karzai said. President Karzai assigned Shah Wali Karzai, other half-brother of Karzai, as successor of Ahmad Wali Karzai. President Karzai returned back to Kabul after the funeral ceremony. Mr Wali Karzai was rubbed out at around 10:30 am by one of his bodyguards named Sardar Mohammad on Tuesday. Sardar Mohammad, was also related to Poplazai tribe and a close relative of the Karzai family.

Link

Afghanistan

Kandahar suicide attack during funeral for Hamid Karzai's brother

2011-07-14

A suicide bomber killed four, including a senior cleric, when he detonated inside a mosque at a memorial service for the assassinated brother of the Afghan president. The Red Mosque in Kandahar had been packed with dignitaries and family members praying for Ahmad Wali Karzai just before the attack witnesses said. Maulavi Hekmatullah Hekmat, head of Kandahar’s clerical council, died in the blast with three others and at least 15 were wounded. Early reports suggested the attacker had evaded security by placing his explosives in a turban. President Hamid Karzai had not been in the mosque at the time, his palace said. The attack came just two days after the assassination of southern Afghanistan's most powerful man and the creation of a power vacuum which many fear could escalate violence in the critical southern city. It also followed a United Nations’ report that civilian deaths in the decade-long conflict had again hit record levels in the first six months of this year

Link

Afghanistan

Karzai crowns another brother as target heir

2011-07-14

KARZ, Afghanistan: Afghan President Hamid Karzai buried his assassinated brother on Wednesday, then swiftly gave another brother a key role opened by the killing, in what could be a bid to stave off political infighting in the volatile south. "Thanks Big Brother! Er, I think." President Karzai wept and kissed the face of his dead brother Ahmad Wali Karzai, unofficially the most powerful man in southern province Kandahar, at a burial in their ancestral village attended by thousands of mourners. Only hours after the body was lowered into the ground, the president appointed another brother, Shah Wali Karzai, as de facto leader of the Popalzai tribe to which the Karzai family belongs. “Tribal leaders have proposed for me to replace martyred Ahmad Wali Karzai with Shah Wali Karzai as your tribal elder,” the president said to hundreds of people thronging the governor’s compound in Kandahar city after the burial. Tribal leaders stood up and raised their hands in support, a Reuters witness said. Several elders then stepped forward to place the turban of his slain brother onto Shah Wali Karzai’s head. But the relatively unknown Shah Wali Karzai, even as head of the tribe, may struggle to fill the power void created by his brother’s death. Shah Wali Karzai is a businessman and engineer by training, who travels regularly between Dubai and Kandahar. “What seems certain is that nobody can entirely replace Ahmad Wali (Karzai) in holding the south together as he did,” wrote Pakistani author and expert on Afghanistan Ahmed Rashid in the New York Times. On the list of those tipped to possibly replace Ahmad Wali Karzai as the main power-broker in Kandahar is Gul Agha Sherzai, an ally of the president, who served as Kandahar’s governor until 2004 when he was removed by the president and sent to Nangarhar. He flew down for the burial. “This is one of the saddest days for Afghan people, I came here to give my deepest condolences. He was killed in a cowardly manner, the plotters will be severely punished,” Sherzai told Reuters.

Link

Afghanistan

Karzai Urges Peace with Taliban after Burying Brother

2011-07-14

[An Nahar] Afghanistan's Caped President Hamid Maybe I'll join the Taliban Karzai ... A former Baltimore restaurateur, now 12th and current President of Afghanistan, displacing the legitimate president Rabbani in December 2004. He was installed as the dominant political figure after the removal of the Taliban regime in late 2001 in a vain attempt to put a Pashtun face on the successor state to the Taliban. After the 2004 presidential election, he was declared president regardless of what the actual vote count was. He won a second, even more dubious, five-year-term after the 2009 presidential election. His grip on reality has been slipping steadily since around 2007, probably from heavy drug use... Wednesday renewed his call on the Taliban to make peace, even as he buried his brother whose liquidation was claimed by the militia. A grieving Karzai led thousands of mourners at the funeral of his brother, Ahmad Wali Karzai, who was assassinated at his home in southern Kandahar city by his own head of security on Tuesday. "Even if the Taliban say they have killed my brother, I call on them, brothers, come make peace," the president told a crowd of tribal elders and politicians in Kandahar after the funeral. He said that despite the death of his brother, "we're determined to make peace. Nothing will stop us from bringing peace and stability to this country." Karzai has been pushing to persuade the Taliban and other beturbanned goons fighting against his government to reconcile in an internationally backed process. The Taliban, the main group behind an increasingly deadly insurgency in Afghanistan, have grabbed credit for the killing and said that the assassin Sardar Mohammad was their associate. However, denial ain't just a river in Egypt... other commentators have expressed doubt that the Taliban were behind the actions of Mohammad, who was the long-serving chief of the younger Karzai's personal protection force.

Link

Afghanistan

Karzai's brother killed by bodyguard

2011-07-12

Afghan president Hamid Karzai's brother, a provincial governor, has been shot dead, according to his spokesman. Ahmad Wali Karzai was head of Kandahar's provincial council and was one of the most powerful men in southern Afghanistan. "We can confirm he has been martyred," provincial government spokesman Zalmay Ayubi said. "I confirm that Ahmad Wali was killed inside his house." A family friend, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Wali Karzai had been killed by a bodyguard while entertaining guests at home.

Link

Afghanistan

US Permanent Military Bases a Serious Need: Wali Karzai

2011-03-16

[Tolo News] Establishment of US permanent bases in Afghanistan is a serious need, President Karzai's brother Ahmad Wali Karzai said. Why is an unelected brother undermining the president's message? Considering threats and intervention of neighbouring countries in Afghan affairs, establishment of permanent bases is a huge need in Afghanistan, Head of Kandahar provincial council Ahmad Wali Karzai said. After the idea of US permanent bases in Afghanistan emerged, there have been different reactions from Afghan officials, but senior Afghan security officials weigh in on establishment of bases. "Afghanistan is a poor country and interference by foreigners and our neighbours has always led to problems here," Wali Karzai said. "I think this is beneficial for future security and for the best of Afghan people." He said national assembly and national council will make the final decision on permanent bases. "This would have negative and positive outcomes, but the final decision should be with elders, parliamentarians and senators," he said. There haven't been any official talks between Afghan officials and the US regarding the issue, but Iran has strongly opposed establishment of any US permanent military bases in Afghanistan.

Link

Warning: Undefined property: stdClass::$T in /data/rantburg.com/www/rantburg/pgrecentorg.php on line 132
-12 More