Afghan endgame: US withdraws military equipment via Pakistan

[Devil Soul]

Afghanistan: Distrust surrounds Pakistan’s move to woo ethnic groups
By Tahir Khan
Published: February 23, 2013
ISLAMABAD:
Pakistan recently received a senior anti-Taliban Afghan Hazara leader as a state guest in its quest to win over the sympathy of non-Pashtun communities in the neighbouring state.

Head of Hizb-e-Wahadat Mardam-e-Afghan Party Haji Mohammad Mohaqiq led an eight-member delegation of the Hazara community which met Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf and Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar this week.

The move is meant to appease ethnic communities critical of Pakistan’s role in establishing peace in the region and what many call Islamabad’s backing for the Afghan Taliban.

A statement issued by the Prime Minister House following the meeting expressed “Pakistan’s desire to have relations with all ethnic and political groups in Afghanistan.”

Similarly, a statement issued by the foreign ministry quoted Hina Rabbani Khar saying: “Pakistan wants to have close relations with all ethnic and political groups of Afghanistan including Hizb-e-Wahdat Mardam-e-Afghan Party.”

This was Mohaqiq’s second visit to Pakistan in less than two years. It reflects Pakistan’s move to boost interaction with non-Pashtun ethnic groups at a time when most foreign combat troops are set to withdraw from Afghanistan by the end of 2014 and as Islamabad struggles for more influence in the war-torn country.

A ministry official recently confided to The Express Tribune that Pakistan has also extended invitations to other ethnic leaders as part of its policy to “create better understanding with all ethnic groups” in the neighbouring country.

In line with this policy, Pakistan Ambassador to Kabul Mohammad Sadiq visited the grave of Tajik leader Ahmad Shah Masood in July 2009. This was shortly after he assumed his new diplomatic role in a rare move that was considered a major trust building measure by Pakistan, which has always been accused by the Northern Alliance of supporting the Taliban.

In their official visits to Afghanistan last year, both Ashraf and Khar met Dr Abdullah Abdullah, the head of the main opposition group, National Coalition of Afghanistan. They also met Tajik leader Ahmad Wali Masood, former speaker and member of National Coalition of Afghanistan Yunus Qanooni, Uzbek leader and deputy head of Junbish-e-Milli Party Faizullah Zaki, and Hazara leader and Vice-President Karim Khalili.

Pakistan assured the leaders that Islamabad is ready to do whatever was in its capacity to facilitate peace in Afghanistan, and stressed that opposition groups can play an important role in achieving stability, progress and development.

Islamabad is now also calling for intra-Afghan talks consisting of all groups in a bid to come up with a political solution for the long-standing conflict.

However, Afghan analysts are suspicious about Pakistan’s interest in specific ethnic or political groups.

A researcher at Afghanistan Analysts Network (AAN), Gran Hiwad says it is not “proper and diplomatic behaviour for Pakistan to interact with specific ethnic and political Afghan leaders.”

Hiwad told The Express Tribune via phone that Afghans have suffered a lot due to ethnic conflicts between 1992 and 2001, the period ruled by mujhaideen groups and the Taliban. “Neighbouring countries were blamed for their role in that conflict.”

He urged Pakistan to encourage religious scholars to sit with Afghan clerics and discuss how to adopt a joint approach against the killing of Muslims.

A former Taliban leader is also critical about what he called “Pakistan’s quest for the policy of strategic depth in Afghanistan.” He added disputes on a few core issues between Kabul and Islamabad were obstacles in the peace process.

“Seeking strategic depth completely in contradiction with ground facts could also be one of those obstructions,” said Mullah Agha Jan Mutasim, former chairman of the Taliban political commission.

Pakistan faces a huge trust deficit and will have to adopt a clear policy to win the hearts of war-weary Afghans, many of whom hold Pakistan responsible for years of suffering.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 23rd, 2013.

 

[bilawalkhan]

Sir if governments will not implement Shariat these kind of groups will rise and try to implement it on their own this may create chaos but this will happen and you can't avoid it at all Sir and how much secular the ***** of society hate them Taliban will be back

agree with u from heart and mind

 

[Devil Soul]

Kabul, US 'reach deal' on pullout of forces in Wardak
By AFP Published: March 21, 2013
ABUL: The United States and Kabul appeared Wednesday to reach an agreement on withdrawing coalition forces from part of a strategic province, after an ultimatum from Afghan President Hamid Karzai.
Karzai on February 24 ordered American special forces to leave Wardak, a hotbed of Taliban activity on the doorstep of Kabul, within two weeks.
The Afghan government accused Afghans working alongside the US troops of torture and murder, and said that this has incited local hatred.
In recent weeks Karzai has staked out increasingly nationalist ground, deepening a war of words that threatens to derail NATO attempts to ensure a smooth security transition before most Western troops leave next year.
But the agreement, which left many questions unanswered and made no explicit mention of special forces, will be seen as a compromise for Karzai and as a further sign of his government’s reliance on the US-led coalition.
Only hours earlier, Karzai’s office branded NATO military operations “aimless and unwise”. But he had already backtracked on his two-week deadline, giving US commanders more time to negotiate the security handover in Wardak.
“I am pleased to announce that following a very constructive series of talks… we have come to agreement on a plan for Wardak,” said General Joseph Dunford, the US commander of NATO troops, following talks with Karzai.
The US-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said Afghan forces would “soon” move into the district of Nerkh, which “will preclude” the need for coalition forces and Afghan Local Police, a controversial, US-trained unit, to remain in the area.
But Nerkh is only one of eight districts in Wardak. ISAF said the “remainder of the province will transition over time” but no dates were announced and Afghan officials contacted by AFP were tight-lipped on the details.
The ISAF statement did not make any specific mention of US special forces, although Dawlat Waziri, a spokesperson for the defence ministry, told AFP that they would leave Nerkh “within a few days”.
British Lieutenant General Nick Carter, ISAF’s deputy commander, later said the change applied only to the Nerkh district and that coalition forces would continue to operate in other parts of the province.
“Given the political dynamics in Nerkh and the background there, it’s going to be transitioned to an Afghan solution during the course of the next few days,” pending a decision from top Afghan officials, Carter told reporters.
“Elsewhere in Wardak, it’s business as usual and it’s no change,” he said, via a video link to Washington from Kabul.
But Carter would not say whether some ISAF or special forces might remain in Nerkh district.
The US military said it had found no evidence to back the allegations that Afghan militia working with US forces had tortured and murdered civilians.
A deputy spokesperson for Karzai welcomed the agreement.
“This has been the true demand of Afghan people and president. We welcome the agreement and we expect that it will be finalised as agreed,” said Adela Raz.
Relations between Karzai and Washington have been increasingly troubled, with the bulk of NATO’s 100,000 combat soldiers due to leave by the end of next year.
The United States, which provides 66,000 of the total, was stunned by the accusations this month from Karzai, who accused the US of colluding with the Taliban to justify its presence in the country.
Many analysts say Karzai, who rose to power with US support after the fall of the Taliban regime, is desperate to shake off allegations that he is a “puppet” president controlled by foreigners.
But some said Wednesday’s deal exposed the contradiction between Karzai’s anti-American comments in public and his dependence on his Western allies.
“I believe this agreement is a face-saver for the president, but it could also be a sign that he has now realised he cannot go on safe and sound with his tough stance against the Americans,” said author Ahmad Saeedi.
“For now this is a win-win for both sides,” said Waheed Mujhda, a political commentator who served in the Taliban government of 1996-2001.
“But the truth is American forces have only agreed to quit one district and it is still a long way until the Americans leave the whole province,” he said.
Others have raised concerns about a swift coalition exit from Wardak, which if not secured could expose Kabul to greater risk of Taliban infiltration.
Casualty statistics have risen sharply among Afghan forces as they have taken on a greater role under the phased NATO withdrawal.

 

[Devil Soul]

Reconciliation struggle: FO distances itself from anti-Karzai remarks
By Reuters / Tahir KhanPublished: March 26, 2013
ISLAMABAD:
Pakistan is ready to facilitate peace in Afghanistan, foreign ministry spokesman Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry said on Monday amid reports that Islamabad is finding it difficult to work with Afghan President Hamid Karzai due to mistrust and is reaching out to others to advance the peace process.

“Right now, Karzai is the biggest impediment to the peace process,” a top foreign ministry official requesting anonymity told Reuters. “In trying to look like a saviour, he is taking Afghanistan straight to hell.”

However, the foreign ministry refuted the remarks attributed to Pakistani officials, saying it did not reflect Pakistan’s approach in the reconciliation process.

“We believe in positive engagement with the Afghan government. The president of Pakistan recently met Afghan President Hamid Karzai in Turkmenistan,” Chuadhry told The Express Tribune, adding that Pakistan maintains close contacts with the Karzai government at all levels.

The foreign ministry spokesman said Pakistan has a positive view of relations with Afghanistan.

“We wish to facilitate peace in Afghanistan and our region,” Chaudhry added.

In the Reuters exclusive, senior Pakistani officials were quoted saying they are discouraged by what they call Karzai’s erratic statements and provocations, apparently designed to make him appear more decisive at home in dealing with the unpopular war, now in its 12th year.

“I have absolutely no doubt that there will be complete chaos in Afghanistan if a settlement is not reached by 2014,” said the foreign ministry official to Reuters. “Afghanistan will erupt. And when that happens, Pakistan will have to pay.”

Another Pakistani foreign ministry official cited several examples of how Karzai has blocked peace efforts. At a conference in January, for example, Karzai insisted there would be no more “back door” peace contacts. The official also accused Karzai of delaying the opening of a Taliban office in Qatar that could be used in the reconciliation efforts – a move agreed upon by President Asif Zardari and President Karzai at the Chequers summit hosted by British Prime Minister David Cameron.

On the other hand, Afghan officials say Karzai is fully committed to the peace process, but wants to ensure it is Afghan-driven.

Responding to the accusation that Karzai is an obstacle to peace, an Afghan government official said: “We totally reject this. It is a baseless allegation.”

Karzai, who will travel to Qatar in search of an elusive peace process in his war-torn country with Qatari leaders, has also recently been critical of Islamabad after Pakistani religious scholars boycotted a conference of clerics from both countries. The Afghan president’s remarks during interviews and in meetings with Pakistani officials have also led Islamabad to conclude he has become too inflexible, citing Karzai’s recent accusation that the United States was colluding with the Taliban.

“What does Karzai have to show for his effort to bring insurgents to the table? We’ve released prisoners. We’ve facilitated talks,” said another senior foreign ministry official, according to Reuters.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 26th, 2013.

 

[Devil Soul]

Afghanistan says ready to work for peace without Pakistan help – The Express Tribune
KABUL: Afghanistan is shocked by Pakistan’s “complacency” in the nascent Afghan peace process and is ready to work without Islamabad’s help on reconciliation, Deputy Foreign Minister Jawed Ludin told Reuters on Wednesday.

It was the first time Afghanistan has suggested the possibility of going it alone without its neighbour.

Regional power Pakistan is seen as critical to stabilising Afghanistan because of its long ties to insurgent groups.

Ludin also said the government would look to senior Taliban prisoners recently handed over by the United States in Bagram prison to urge militants to pursue peace. He did not elaborate.

Afghan officials had been pushing Pakistan hard to influence the Taliban and other groups to join reconciliation efforts and Kabul had spoken of progress after Islamabad released some Taliban prisoners who could promote peace.

But Ludin, who is widely believed to shape foreign policy, told Reuters in an interview that Afghanistan had noted a shift in Pakistan’s position towards peace efforts that are gaining more urgency as foreign forces prepare to leave by the end of 2014.

“We here in Kabul are in a bit of a state of shock at once again being confronted by the depth of Pakistan’s complacency, we are just very disappointed,” he said.

“But what has happened in the last few months for us, (we)see that Pakistan is changing the goal post every time we reach understanding.”

Afghanistan also said it had cancelled a military trip to Pakistan due to “unacceptable Pakistani shelling” of the country’s mountainous eastern borderlands.

More than two dozen Pakistani artillery shells were fired into Afghanistan’s eastern province of Kunar on Monday and Tuesday. The cancellation of the trip and days of angry diplomatic exchanges have placed further strain on a fraught relationship.

 

[Adios Amigo]

Shitting in their pants as usual....."Get your sh!t together".....All they do is blame Pakistan......So why Pakistan shouldn't be complacent??

 

[Abu Zolfiqar]

Their time is coming up and they are aware of it, hence the paranoid and rather confused diatribes

 

[muse]

Karzai's way or no way at all? I think it depends on whether or not Pakistan muster the will and make to assurances the US and the really the entire world wants from it, that it will finish the Islamist militants and the ideological framework that sustain it - if yes, then screw what Karzai wants, if not then, Karzai is king.

 

[Abu Zolfiqar]

Karzai's way or no way at all? I think it depends on whether or not Pakistan muster the will and make to assurances the US and the really the entire world wants from it, that it will finish the Islamist militants and the ideological framework that sustain it - if yes, then screw what Karzai wants, if not then, Karzai is king.

Karzai has gone mad. His mental health has been in question for years. He accuses Pakistan of meddling time to time and supporting the rebels but then next day is professing that Americans are the ones talking and negotiating and even plotting with taleban behind his back. He keeps changing his story depending on the position in which he slept the previous night and how much salt in his diet

i hope history doesnt repeat itself (a la Najibullah); he should be polite to his financiers as they are the ones he'll go to for visa. I hope we dont make the same mistake again of allowing him refuge

Karzai's way or no way at all? I think it depends on whether or not Pakistan muster the will and make to assurances the US and the really the entire world wants from it, that it will finish the Islamist militants and the ideological framework that sustain it - if yes, then screw what Karzai wants, if not then, Karzai is king.

what about this new strain of "Islamist" militants they are incubating to go kill Assad and his tribe in Al Sham

 

[muse]

Karzai has gone mad.

what about this new strain of "Islamist" militants they are incubating to go kill Assad and his tribe in Al Sham

Karzai is not mad, he's wily -- it as a mistake to make frustration over him public by the FO, now only to retract - as for the new Islam vrus incubated by the Wahabi princes, may it consume them - as for it heading to Pakistan, it's already here - the Al-Nusra has important operations personnel in Pakistan -- You keep an eye on this ASWJ, naam roshan kar ne walay hain

 

[Abu Zolfiqar]

Karzai is not mad, he's wily -- it as a mistake to make frustration over him public by the FO, now only to retract - as for the new Islam vrus incubated by the Wahabi princes, may it consume them - as for it heading to Pakistan, it's already here - the Al-Nusra has important operations personnel in Pakistan -- You keep an eye on this ASWJ, naam roshan kar ne walay hain

I have no information on it. Do feel free to elaborate

As for Karzai - he will be old news. He's powerless on his own. But hopefully things get better there because what happens there affects is directly, needless to say

 

[DESERT FIGHTER]

And alot of this cargo will go missing and found in karkhano market!

 

[Devil Soul]

Hopes of Taliban deal hit by Afghan-Pakistan dispute
By AFP Published: March 28, 2013
KABUL: Recriminations between Afghanistan and Pakistan on Thursday undermined hopes that a recent thaw in cross-border relations could help bring Taliban militants to the peace table.

Western officials believe Pakistan, which backed Afghanistan’s 1996-2001 Taliban regime, has a crucial role to play in efforts to negotiate a political settlement with the extremists and end more than a decade of war.

Relations had recently improved, building up to a three-way summit hosted by Britain last month as part of efforts to end the conflict in Afghanistan.

But a confidence-building visit by 11 Afghan officers to take part in a military exercise in the Pakistani city of Quetta was called off by Kabul over reported firing across the border from Pakistan.

Afghanistan has been pushing Pakistan to encourage the Taliban to open talks, but said its neighbour now seemed unwilling to take action.

“Pakistan for a long time supported an Afghan-led and Afghan-owned peace process,” Janan Mosazai, the Afghan foreign ministry spokesman, told AFP.

“Now Pakistan is shifting the goalposts… which is extremely disappointing and demonstrates Pakistan’s unwillingness to support the Afghan peace process.”

Mosazai also lashed out at “disingenuous” reported accusations by unnamed Pakistani officials this week that Hamid Karzai, Afghan president since 2001, was an obstacle to the peace push as international combat troops start to withdraw.

“President Karzai has put his reputation on the line and invested a tremendous amount of political capital into improving trust with Pakistan,” he said.

The governor of the eastern Afghan province of Kunar, Fazlulah Wahidi, said up to 50 rockets fired from Pakistan damaged property on Monday and Tuesday.

The Pakistani foreign ministry said its troops had responded to what it called “some intrusions from the Afghan side”.

“We believe that Afghanistan overreacted to a small incident,” said foreign ministry spokesman Aizaz Ahmed Chaudhry after Kabul cancelled the military visit.

Chaudhry said the visit had been designed to increase “mutual cooperation and confidence.”

But Afghanistan and Pakistan deeply distrust each other and trade blame for Taliban violence plaguing both sides of their 2,400-kilometre border, drawn up by British colonialists.

Last month a conference of Afghan and Pakistani religious scholars aimed at pushing forward the peace process was called off due to disagreements.

The head of Pakistan’s Ulema Council, Allama Tahir Ashrafi, said there was no point to the meeting unless the Afghan Taliban were invited.

He was then accused in Afghanistan of condoning suicide attacks in a television interview in which he insists he was misunderstood.

There was another dispute over Maulvi Faqir Mohammad, a senior Pakistani Taliban fighter arrested recently in Afghanistan. Pakistan demanded he be handed over, but Kabul indicated he would be held as a bargaining chip for prisoner exchanges.

 

[Devil Soul]

Stabilising Afghanistan: Pakistan has crucial role, peace negotiator – The Express Tribune
ISLAMABAD: The Afghan High Peace Council has said that Pakistan has a crucial role to play in the ‘difficult-to-achieve’ peace with the Taliban militia.
“The Afghan High Peace Council considers Pakistan’s role as extremely important to put an end to the armed struggle in Afghanistan,” Abdul Hakim Mujahid, a senior member of the council, told The Express Tribune by the phone from Kabul.

Mujahid’s remarks came days after Afghan Deputy Foreign Minister Javed Ludin said that Kabul could pursue the peace process without Pakistan’s help. He also alleged that those Taliban figures who want to reconcile were either killed or arrested in Pakistan.

A day later, Afghan presidential spokesman Aimal Faizi came up with harsher statement, accusing Islamabad of ‘sabotaging’ the peace efforts.

Mujahid, however, said that Pakistan could help restore normalcy in his war-ravaged country. At the same time he admitted strain in the bilateral relations between Kabul and Islamabad.

President Hamid Karzai had set up the 70-member High Peace Council and tasked it with making peace with the Taliban and other insurgent groups.

Mujahid, however, denied that the council was taking dictations from the government. He referred to a recent statement from the council’s spokesman who described the Afghan deputy foreign minister’s remarks about Pakistan as his personal views.

The Express Tribune learnt on Sunday that diplomatic efforts are underway to lower tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan and that some progress is possible in the coming days.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 1st, 2013.

 

[Devil Soul]

Dempsey arrives on unannounced visit to Afghanistan
April 06, 2013 - Updated 1414 PKT
From Web Edition
KABUL: Top US military officer General Martin Dempsey arrived in Afghanistan on an unannounced visit Saturday to assess the level of training the US will need to provide Afghan forces after NATO withdraws in 2014, an official said.

An estimated 100,000 foreign troops have been fighting the Taliban for the past 11 years and are due to leave Afghanistan by December 31, 2014 to be replaced by a smaller contingent to train and advise their local counterparts.

General Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, will "assess the level of training that US/ISAF will provide to Afghan security forces", a military official said.

Afghan security forces, numbering around 330,000, are widely seen as ill-equipped, under-trained, and even corrupt. Lots of Afghans fear they will fail to contain the growing insurgency once the international troops leave.

The US army still has 68,000 troops on the ground in April 2013. Speculations on the size of its force post-2014 range from 6000 to 20,000 soldiers.

Last August, insurgents' rockets hit General Dempsey's plane as it was parked at the Bagram air field and wounded two maintenance crew, according to officials. Dempsey flew out of the country unharmed using another plane.