Truthful, Factual and Unbiasedafgtimes@yahoo.com Vol:X Issue No:42 Price: Afs.15Eye on the News

www.facebook.com/ afghanistantimeswww.twitter.com/ afghanistantimesTHURSDAY . SEPTEMBER 03 . 2015 -Sunbula 12, 1394 HS

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Ibarguen:That domi-nant athleteyou haven'theard of

Taylor Swiftcrownedqueen ofMTV VideoMusic Awards

Oil extendslosses onweak glo-bal eco-nomicoutlook

Why Turkeyjoined theU.S.-led mis-sion to de-grade anddefeat ISIS

Gen. Dostumseeksmilitaryassistancefrom Russia

Hugeexpenses onAfghan peaceeffort achievelittle gains

Pakistan's national security advi-sor, Sartaj Aziz, is expected to visitAfghanistan amid strained rela-tions between Kabul and Islama-bad. Besides attending the RegionalEconomic Cooperation Conferenceon Afghanistan (RECCA) summitwhich will start on Thursday, thePakistani diplomat is said to helpimprove the relations between thetwo neighboring countries, Paki-stani media outlets said Wednes-day. The relations were soured fol-lowing a spate of attacks in Kabulwhich the Afghan intelligencesources blamed on Pakistan. Mean-while, officials at the Afghan Pres-idential Palace said Afghanistan hasdelivered solid evidence to the Pa-kistani government that clearlyproved bases of insurgent net-works in that country. Accordingto Afghan officials, the fundamen-tal cause of tension with Islama-bad is the existence of insurgentgroups, especially Haqqani Net-work in Pakistan. "The remarks ofMr. Aziz are same as the past re-marks of Pakistani officials thatthey had over the past decade,"President Ashraf Ghani's deputyspokesman Sayed Zafar Hashemisaid, after Aziz stated the Haqqanibases were eliminated in Pakistan.Recently, the U.S National Securi-ty Advisor, Susan Elizabeth Rice,in her visit to Islamabad called onPakistan to stop terrorist net-works from carrying out attackson Afghanistan from within theirborders. Meanwhile, the analystsstress the need for trilateral effortsby United States, Pakistan andAfghanistan to eradicate terrorismin the region.

Sartaj Azizto visit Kabul,ease tensions

5 reasons Pakistanwon t change itsAfghan policy

MAIMANA: Taliban s governorfor northern Faryab province hasbeen detained, officials said onWednesday, hoping the arrestwould help stabilise the securitysituation. Qari Salahuddin Ayubiled recent insurgent operations inthe northwestern zone, particu-larly in Faryab province, said theNational Directorate of Security(NDS) the Afghan spy service.Ayubi was arrested last night onthe Herat-Shindand highway, astatement from the intelligenceagency said, claiming the Talibanhad suffered heavy losses duringthe recent security operations inFaryab. It added the Taliban sshadow governor was trying toescape to the southwestern Paki-stani city of Quetta throughBadghis, Herat and Kandahar.Faryab Peace Committee headMaulvi Asadullah Jamali, speak-ing to Pajhwok Afghan News,called the arrest a huge success forthe security forces.

He believed the incident rep-resented the arrest of 50 percentof Taliban in the province. Ayu-bi is a dangerous man, planningterrorist attacks and suicide bomb-ings. (Pajhwok)

Gunmen loyal to Ghulam Nabi, alocal commander, hurled a handgrenade into the house of MullahFaizullah, killing two people andinjuring six others, including twowomen, in the Garziwan districtof Faryab. A member of the pro-vincial council from the district,Sibghatullah Selab, told PajhwokAfghan News two of the injuredwere in critical condition. Dis-trict chief Abdul Razzaq Kakarlinked the clashto an old enmityand political rivalry between Fai-zullah, a commander of Junbish-i-Mili Party, and Ghulam NabiShuja of the Jamiat-i-Islami inZang valley. The incident claimedthree lives and resulted in injuri-esto five others. A woman died ofhearing an explosion during the

KABUL/HERAT CITY: Someschool girls in the Injil district ofwestern Herat province fell un-conscious on Wednesday andwere taken to hospital, officialssaid. Mohammad Rafiq Sherzai,provincial hospital spokesman,told Pajhwok Afghan News around60 students of Habib-ul-MustafaSchool in Injil were poisoned. All

of them, numbering around 60,have been evacuated to hospital.He said all students were beingtaken care of and none had beendischarged yet. The poisoned stu-dents were aged between 15 and19 years, the spokesman said.Abdul Rauf Ahmadi, policespokesman, confirmed the incidentand said: Our investigations

show the poisonous substancewas brought to the school byteachers or students. But we needmore time to specify those per-sons. Two days back, 130 stu-dents, teachers and guards of thesame school had been poisoned.Meanwhile, two girls at a privateschool in the 13th police districtof Kabul also fell unconscious.

Haji Mohammad Yasin, principalof the Talash School in Dasht-i-Barchi locality, said the reasoncould not be immediately ascer-tained. The girls, he said, had beenshifted to hospital and were instable condition.But Hussain Ali,a resident of the area, said around10 girls had been poisoned.(Pajhwok)

Woman among 6 killedin Faryab, Jawzjan clashes

clash, a resident of the area saidon condition of anonymity. Mean-while, Taliban shot dead two lo-cals, including the father of a localpoliceman, in the Ghul Boyan areaof the district, Kakar said.Talibancommander Mullah Abdul Ahadwas killed during a clash with lo-cal people and police in the area.Another commander was gunneddown in retaliatory firefrom po-lice in the Sherbeg area of the QushTepa district of Jawzjan province,the deputy police chief said. Col.Abdul Hafiz Khashi added a localpoliceman was also injured in thegun-battle.Taliban wanted to re-venge the death of their eight fight-ers who had been killed last weekby Afghan security personnel.(Pajhwok)

ZARANJ: Customs officials insouthwestern Nimroz provinceclaim their department s revenuehas increased by one billion af-ghanis during the first nine monthsof this solar year compared to thecorresponding period last year.

Wais Sultani, the CustomsDepartment head, said more thanfive billion afghanis had been col-lected so far 20 percent upagainst previous year s returns.

Sultani was speaking at theinauguration ceremony of the Au-tomated System for CustomsData (ASYCUDA) at the port inZaranj, the provincial capital.

ASYCUDA, a computerisedcustoms management system,covers most foreign trade proce-dures and handles manifests andcustoms declarations, accounting

A woman died of hearing an explosion during the clash, aresident of the area said on condition of anonymity.

procedures, transit and suspenseprocedures.

Sultani said 20 percent of thetotal revenue came from dutycharges on oil imports from Iranand the remaining from textile,electronic equipment and spare-parts.

He linked in the increase inrevenue to hard work of customsemployees, encouragement of trad-ers to use the southwestern portfor their trade activities, provi-sion of more facilities, strict checkand balance system and the use oftechnology.

Governor Mohammad Samipraised customs officials for theirhard work and said the installa-tion of the modern system wouldaccelerate trade activities in theprovince. (Pajhwok)

Taliban infighting LEAVES 18 DEADAt least 18 Taliban insurgents havebeen killed so far in the ongoingclashes between the Taliban mili-tants in western Herat province,the local official said on Wednes-day. In addition, 10 other insur-gents sustained injuries, said Eh-

sanullah Hayat, provincial gover-nor's spokesman. The clashesstarted Wednesday in Shindanddistrict when the fighting broke outbetween the supporters of late Tal-iban leader Mullah Omar and thefollowers of Mullah Mansour,

who succeeded the group's ex-su-preme leader, he added. "Theclashes started early morning inOkal area in Shindand," Hayatsaid, stating that "The clashes arestill going on." The odds betweenthe Taliban leaders emerged fol-

lowing appointment of MullahMansour as the group's new lead-er a decision widely opposed bysome members of the group. Shin-dand saw a similar incident abouttwo weeks ago that left 15 Talibaninsurgents dead.

StrengtheningAfghanistan sballot box

Clashesover draftconstitutionkill 5 inNepal

Turkishpolice firetear gasat Istanbulprotest

KABUL: Assistance to Legisla-tive Bodies of Afghanistan(ALBA) in a joint venture withparliament and civil societylaunched a one-day conference toexplore ways to nudge the gov-ernment and its ministries to spurthe spending of development bud-get. The Deputy Speaker of theMeshrano Jirga, MuhammadAlam Ezedyar, said that politicalissues in the aftermath of recentelection crisis had its negative im-pact on transparent and judicious-ly spending of development bud-get by government organizations.Speaking at a press conference,Ezedyar said that dwindling in-ternational support and lack ofcapacity are other challenges thatmar transparent spending of de-velopment budget. He said thatparliament and the civil societywill explore ways to speed up thespending of development budget.AnarKali Honaryar, a member ofthe budget and finance committeeof the Meshrano Jirga, said thatmost of the ministries failed tospend 50 percent of their allocat-ed budget. Only few ministrieshave managed to spend 60 per-cent of their budget, she added.

Rahim Jami, a civil societyactivist, said that there are no ex-act figures regarding implementa-tion of uplift projects. He said thatconference was aimed at devisinga mechanism to enhance coopera-tion among the parliament, civilsociety, and government organi-zations to spur spending of de-velopment budget.

Ministriesurged to spurdevelopmentbudgets spendingBy Farhad Naibkhel

Electoral reforms,e-ID cards and AfghanChurchill

KABUL: Thousands of protest-ors took to the streets in south-eastern Paktia province onWednesday and demand of thegovernment to include the wordsIslam and Afghan in the electronic

identity cards (e-ID cards). Theywarned to attack ID cards distri-bution centers in the province, ifthe government did not ensure in-clusion of the words in the cards.

The issue is simmering sincea number of elements demandedthat the two words should bedropped off the electronic IDcards. ID cards sans word Af-

ghan are not acceptable, for Af-ghanistan is our shared home andAfghan is our identity, said Ab-dul Rauf Khan, a member of thePaktia provincial council. He saidthat people of the province willwithhold their support to the gov-ernment, if it doesn t respect thecall of majority to include theword Afghan in the cards. Theprotestors were carrying bannerswith slogans of we want thewords of Afghan and Islam in elec-tronic ID cards and ID cards sansthe words of Islam and Afghannot acceptable . We will poseserious threat to this already shakygovernment, if it did not meet ourdemands, said a civil society ac-

tivist. The protestors also issueda resolution. The resolution urgesthe government must include thewords Islam and Afghan in thecards or it will face a strict actionfrom religious scholars, provincialcouncil, tribal elders and civil so-ciety of Paktia province. JumaKhan Hamdard, former governorof Paktia province, in an interviewto Zhwandoon TV warned thatthe government will face a seriousthreat, if it didn t include the wordAfghan in electronic ID cards.President Ashraf Ghani has failed

so far in keeping his promise tothe nation and if this time he didn trespect our national identity, hewill bite the dust, he warned.

AT Monitoring Desk

Gunmen kidnap 17 Turkish workers in Iraq

A group of unidentified gunmenhave kidnapped 17 Turkish and 3Iraqi workers from a constructionsite in Baghdad. Officials say thegunmen were wearing militarysuits, stormed the construction sitein predominantly Shia HabibiyahDistrict and kidnapped theseworkers in black pick-up vehicles

on Wednesday morning. Officialsadded that the these people wereworking with a Turkish companycontracted to build a sports complex.No group has immediately claimedresponsibility for the abduction.Numan Kurtulmus, the TurkishDeputy Prime Minister has said thathe is in contact with Iraqi officials

regarding the incident. This is thesecond incident of mass abductionof Turkish citizens in two years inIraq. Last year, 46 Turkish and threeIraqi citizens were kidnapped by ISmilitants from the Turkish consu-late in Mosul but they were laterunanimously released after spend-ing three months in captivity.

These people were working with a Turkish company contracted to build a sports complex

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THURSDAY . SEPTEMBER 03, 2015

AFGHANISTAN TIMES

KABUL: Millions of dollars havebeen spent under the AfghanistanPeace and Reintegration Program(APRP), a government initiative,but many people are unhappywith its outcome as they say theconflict has further intensified. Byjoining the APRP, designed, im-plemented and executed by Af-ghans to provide a way for insur-gents to stop fighting and rejointheir communities with dignity, ex-rebels make the commitment torenounce violence, sever all tieswith the insurgency and abide bythe Constitution of Afghanistan.This includes the acceptance ofthe government of Afghanistan slaws on women s rights. Formerpresident Hamid Karzai decreedthe programme in compliancewith the advice from the NationalPeace Advisory Jirga with finan-cial support from the internation-al community. Rolled out in allprovinces, the High Peace Coun-cil (HPC), a government entitytasked with negotiating peacewith insurgents, has been leadingthe programme since its launch

five years ago. The 69-memberHPC has peace committees in allprovinces except central Panjsherprovince. The peace committees,which operate under the HPChead office in Kabul, have 888members and 142 staff members.Source: High Peace Council (HPC)Expenses: Though millions ofdollars have been spent on thepeace process, but information inthis regard has largely been deniedto journalists. According to theAfghanistan Research and Evalu-ation Unit (AREU), an indepen-dent research organisation basedin Kabul, 782 million US dollarshad been set aside for the reinte-gration programme. The UnitedNations Development Program(UNDP) writes that donor coun-tries assisting the programme havebeen divided into three categories.Source: UNDP-2011-Report TheMinistry of Finance and otherauthorities concerned do not pro-vide needed information about thedonors in first and third catego-ries, but the Ministry of Financesays the donors in the second cat-egory have so far pledged $130.4million in assistance with the pro-gramme. Of the $131.7 millionchanneled through the UNDP in2014, so far $109 million has beenutilised, according to the minis-try. Source: Ministry of Finance

The UNDP also writes the secondcategory donors have assisted theAPRP programme with $131.7 mil-lion. But advisor with HPC on for-eign relations Mohammad IsmailQasimyar said the HPC expensesstood at nearly $3 million a year.He said funds from donor countrieswere being used through variousministries and departments in peacerelated projects. Rumours beingcirculated among the people and themedia that millions of dollars hadbeen spent on the council are com-pletely baseless. The HPC budgetsduring the past four or five yearswere $2.5m sometimes $2.6m and$2.8m below $3 million. Thesebudges are less than received byother departments and ministries.The funds were used to arrangegatherings, meetings, conferences,direct and indirect contacts. He saidclaims made regarding huge spend-ing were about the amounts whichhad been directly given to on-bud-get line ministries. I will cite apractical example; the US gives $50million to the Rural DevelopmentMinistry for its development

projects and National SolidarityProgram (NSP). Maybe some ofthe money was used to providejobs to reconciling militants. GainsThe High Peace Council says so far10,500 militants have joined thepeace process, with nearly one-fourth former rebels surrendering innorthwestern Badghis province.The fewer number of militantsjoined the peace process in south-western Nimroz province. Thebody says the surrendering mili-tants have turned in 8101 weap-ons, all handed over to the govern-ment. More than half of the weap-ons were collected in Herat,Baghlan, Ghor and Nangarhar prov-inces. Figures available with theHPC show most of the reconcilingmilitants joined the peace processin western and northwestern prov-inces and the least in northwest andsouthern provinces. But the recon-ciliation of these fighters with thegovernment has not helpedstrengthen the peace programmeinstead the conflict has further in-tensified. United Nations Assis-tance Mission in Afghanistan(UNAMA) s annual reports saynearly 47,000 civilians, includingwomen and children, have beenkilled or wounded during the lastfive and a half years. They include16,954 dead and 29,744 injured.

UNAMA s report showed as

many as 1,592 civilians, includingwomen and children had been killedand more than 3,329 wounded inthe first six months of 2015 duringincidents of violence in Afghanistan.During this period, the warring par-ties also suffered heavy casualtiesand even HPC members were notspared. Former president and theHPC chairman, Prof. BurhanuddinRabbani, was assassinated in a sui-cide attacker who posed as peaceemissary at Rabbani s residence inKabul in September, 2011. Monthslater, another key member of theHPC, Arsala Rahmani, was killedin an attack. Besides these two in-dividuals, the HPC says 33 mem-bers of provincial peace committeeshave been killed in 17 provinces.

Some Kabul residents say theyare not satisfied with the HPCachievement as they cite the increas-ing casualty toll and growing inse-curity in northern provinces.

One of them, Zarin Khan Adil,says: Millions of dollars have beenspent on the HPC and thousandsof people compensated in the nameof peace, but where is thepeace? He called the HPC as asymbolic body and its mission farfrom reality. We want this peacebody to be dissolved, we are no waysupport of the council. Similarly,another resident of Kabul City, Is-mail Totakhel, said the HPC lackedan organised and effective strategyto advance the peace process and itworked like an opposition team. Heurged the government to dissolvethe council. Law and political sci-ence teacher at Kabul UniversityShehla Farid also says the HPC hasno gains and money spent on it hasbeen wasted. If you ask a commonman about the achievements of theHPC and particularly if you ask thewar-affected families, they willclearly say the council has achievednothing. She said the reconciliationof the nearly 10,000 militants wasnot an achievement because mostof them had returned to the battle-field. She said they would call itachievement if the surrendering mil-itants did not return to their com-rades. The university teacher saidthe HPC offices in Kabul and prov-inces consumed enough budgets de-spite being inaccessible for peopleand without any significantachievement. She also criticised theHPC s composition and said:Former government officials and

politicians did not take into consid-eration the effectiveness and popu-larity of individuals before appoint-ing them as members of the council.There is no criterion for the ap-pointment of HPC members. She-hla Farid said warlords had beenappointed in the HPC, who sawtheir survival in prolonging the con-flict. On failure of the peace pro-cess, she accused foreign countries,particularly Pakistan, of being be-hind the conflict in Afghanistan andsaid the HPC had no comprehen-sive strategy to follow. Insisting onan effective strategy for peace, shesaid: I appeal to the political lead-ers of the unity government to dis-mantle the High Peace Council assoon as possible for failing toachieve any progress. She said themoney being given to the HPCshould be instead spent on the well-being of victims of the conflict. ButMohammad Ismail Qasimyar saidthe HPC had many achievementsand the peace process could notsucceed due to foreign interference.He said Pakistan s spy agencieshandled the insurgents. Thosewho complain about no achieve-ments think the peace process is asimple job. Actually they don t ful-ly understand it. They think we willsay we want peace and MullahOmar will say I am coming, no thisis not that simple, it is a complicat-ed job. Many countries have stakesand until all these countries in thegame do not fully cooperate witheach other, the problems will re-main. He said those commentingon the peace process should firstunderstand problems plaguing theprocess. Qasimyar said the HPCwas created in order to resolve theAfghanistan conflict through dia-logue, but the Taliban respondedwith violence and killed the HPCchairman, Burhanuddin Rabbani,and others. He said they failed tohold talks with Taliban s deceasedsupreme leader Mullah Omar be-cause he had been living in Pakistanand the country s premier spy agen-cy possessed the keys of peace.About the presence of warlords inthe body, he said: Those who hadfought should make peace as well.This is what our political and socialstructure demands. If our jihadi lead-ers oppose the peace process, peacecannot be achieved. Their presencein the council is necessary and theycan resolve problems. Qasim alsodisputed the claim that most of thereconciled militants had returned tothe past, saying a fewer numbermight have returned, but those whohave joined the process were hap-py with the HPC. (Pajhwok)

Huge expenseson Afghan peace effortachieve little gains BAMYAN CITY: More than

2,500 families on Wednesday ex-tended solar power in centralBamyan province amid com-plaints the charges exceed thosein other provinces. Governor Ta-hir Zuhair and Da AfghanistanBreshna Sherkat s (DABS) centralzone director Ghulam Haider Sadi-qi inaugurated the 2.1 megawattsolar power plant in Bamyan City,the provincial capital. The projectthat cost $1.2 million donated bythe Norwegian Embassy in Kabullights homes of 2,500 families inZargaran, Jagra Khail and Daudiareas. However, some consumerscomplained the charges were highas compared to other provinces.The construction of a power tow-er, extension of electricity cablesto people s homes and the overallconstruction of the network cost$1.2 million. The main power pan-els activated two years ago by theProvincial Reconstruction Team(PRT) of New Zealand cost $14million, benefiting 4,000 familiesso far. Bamyan Electricity Direc-tor Eng. Murtaza Sarmad told Pa-jhwok Afghan News 60 percentof Bamyan residents had so farbenefited from the solar powerproject and the service would beextended to the remaining fami-lies soon. He said families werecharged 15 afghanis per kilowattand commercial buildings 45 af-ghanis. However, MohammadYusuf, head of Zargaran Council,

Another 2,50 0Bam yan hom es go green

said the electricity price was toohigh and should be reduced like inother provinces. It is injusticewhen the price of a kilowatt inKabul is four to five afghanis whilethe price of the same in Bamyanis three times high, he said. ButDABS Director Ghulam HaidarSadiqi said solar power had sev-

eral losses including damages tobatteries and solar panels, there-fore the charges were high. Therates had been fixed by the pro-vincial committee, he said. Sadiqisaid the charges would fall onceelectricity from Tajikistan andUzbekistan reached Bamyan.Governor Tahir Zuhair expressed

gratitude over the power extensionand said, It is electricity that en-ables people to access new facili-ties. It plays a key role in improv-ing people s economy. Bamyanresidents had previously protest-ed against the lack of electricityand installed a lantern lamp at thecity s square. (Pajhwok)

KABUL: Australia on Tuesdayprovided the Afghanistan CricketBoard (ACB) $21,000 in cash as-sistance for cricket gear for thecountry s largest domestic tour-nament Sixes.

Australian Ambassador inKabul Matt Anderson handed overthe $21,000 cheque to ACB dep-uty chief executive officer DostMohammad Nazari at a ceremo-ny held at the Australian Embas-sy. Other Australian Embassy,ACB officials and media represen-tatives also attended the ceremo-ny.

Anderson said he contributedthe cash assistance in response toa request from the ACB for theSixes tournament and promisedcontinued such assistance with theboard. He said cricket had become

Australia assists Afghan cricket board with cash

one of Afghanistan national games and played a crucial role in pre-

serving Afghanistan s nationalunity.

The Australian envoy said hiscountry and people supported theAfghanistan cricket body and re-called that when Afghanistan wasplaying the last World Cup inAustralia and New Zealand, theAustralians backed the Afghanteam which was their secondfavourite side after their ownteam.

ACB deputy CEO Dost Mo-hammad Nazari thanked the Aus-tralian government and the Em-bassy for the assistance and saidAustralia had always assistedcricket in Afghanistan. Nazari saidAfghanistan needed internationalassistance to enable the cricketboard to stand on its own feet.(Pajhwok)

Afghan is tan : Circus brin gsjo y to ch ildre n in w ar-to rn n atio nFlinging sparkling clubs into theair, the girls show off their jugglingskills as the boys execute dazzlingacrobatics, climbing into a four-storey human pyramid. The Af-ghanistan Mobile Mini Circus forChildren (MMCC) travels acrossthe country despite dangers, en-tertaining children and adults alike.

The project has grown so pop-ular that it now runs centres in tenprovinces and has hundreds of reg-ular students who want to train incircus skills. The circus makes vis-its to internally displaced personscamps, schools, orphanages, andholds annual festivals.

"We are all tired of war. Wehave enjoyed this entertainmentprogram. We wish to have peaceand security in our country so wecan have more fun and this kind ofamusement in our life," said 14-year-old school girl, Husna, whowatched the performance at herschool.

The MMCC would have been"heretical" under the Taliban, whenmusic was banned by the Islamicfundamentalist movement and girlswere forbidden from performing inpublic and going to school.

Khalilullah Hameed is thetrainer and project manager.Hameed believes that their showsand performances bring significantchanges to Afghan children whohave suffered from years of con-flict.

"We tell the children that theyshould not worry about conflict

and war, we give them hope thatthey will have a bright future. Wemake the children happy and givethem hope that they are the cre-ators of the future so they are bet-ter to be happy. We encouragethem to show their skills to oth-ers. This is our goal to make chil-dren happy and keep them safe,"

Hameed said.The circus, founded by Dan-

ish dance instructor David Masonto teach cooperation and creativi-ty to children scarred by years ofwar, is one of few projects expand-ing despite a drop in internationalaid to Afghanistan. Mason startedthe circus with his own money andgot the first donation of $1,000(£650) in 2002, the year after US-led forces invaded Afghanistan tooust the Taliban. The children aretaught juggling, walking on stiltsand acrobatics.

"I ask children to come andlearn circus tricks and ignore thewar. Circus is a joyful art I am sureby doing circus tricks children willforget all the pain of war and panicthey have in their minds," saidSuraya, a 10-year-old old circusperformer.

The war in Afghanistanclaimed almost 5,000 civilian ca-sualties in the first half of 2015,the United Nations said earlier inAugust, a one percent increase onlast year as fighting intensified fol-lowing the withdrawal of most for-eign troops in 2014.

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AFGHANISTAN TIMES

THURSDAY . SEPTEMBER 03, 2015

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One of the suspected Haqqanimembers arrested in Kabul recent-ly by the National Directorate ofSecurity (NDS) is believed to havebeen imprisoned in Pul-eCharkhiPrison under a false name for twoyears.

Documents uncovered byTOLOnews reveal that Israr Ah-mad, an insurgent leader, was sen-tenced to six years in prison in2012 after being found to be inpossession of explosives and sui-cide vests. He was however par-doned by former president HamidKarzai last year and freed.

"I was recruited by the Tali-ban group four years ago throughmy cousin who was famous asAlmas. Then I was arrested withexplosives and suicide vests and Iwas sentenced to six years in pris-on," said Israr Ahmad.

"I spent two years and twomonths in Pul-e-Charkhi Prisonand then I was released."

TOLOnews reporter, TamimHamid who visited Pul-e-CharkhiPrison, checked the list of namesof prisoners over the past fewyears. He was not able to find Is-rar Ahmad's name but did find thefake name he was supposedly reg-istered under.

According to the reporter,they found his name by searchingfor Ahmad's father's name and oth-er details.

Prison officials also confirmedthat Ahmad was released follow-ing a decree by Karzai, which heissued during his last days in of-fice.

"Israr Ahmad aka Naeem orQudratullah. Who is he and howcould he beguile security forces byusing two or three names? Howwas he included in the presidentialdecree in pardoning prisoners?"asked Rafiullah Bidar AfghanistanIndependent Human Rights Com-mission spokesman.

"We want a complete justiceprocess in this regard. The deci-sion should be made justly in or-der to safeguard citizen's rights,"he said.

Afghanistan tackles hidden mental health epidemicA small army of therapists, headed by a female doctor, helps patients traumatised by years of war, working against long-held superstitious practices

Mohammad Qassem had beenchained to a wall for 13 days.Locked in a tiny concrete cell withhis hands and feet shackled, he had27 days left before he would bedeclared healthy. During that peri-od, the keeper of the holy shrinewhere Qassem was held wouldfeed him only tea, bread and blackpepper, ostensibly to rid him of

what his family said was insanity.Qassem, a former soldier whospoke hoarsely, with bursts oflaughter, said he just had a hashishaddiction.

When I don t smoke hashishI want to kill all foreigners, heroared, to giggles from a crowd ofonlookers from the nearby villagewho had gathered at the cell en-

trance. For generations, the MiaAli Baba Shrine, in a rural part ofNangarhar province, has been re-nowned for allegedly curing men-tal illnesses with forced asceticismand spiritual cleansing. We leaveeverything to God, said the shrinekeeper, Mia Saheb.

The Earth and the sky havebeen made by God. God takes careof the patients. Qassem, mean-while, showed off wounds wherethe chains had gnawed into hiswrists. They need to take me tothe doctor instead of putting me inprison here, he said.

They made me crazier bybringing me here. Fourteen yearsof violence have created a hiddenepidemic in Afghanistan of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)and other war-induced illnesses. Itis one of the most enduring dam-ages wrought by the war one fewpeople understand, and fewer cantreat. But a small army of thera-pists now seeks to change that.And they are led by a woman.

We are in a vicious cycle ofviolence and trauma, said DrFareshta Quedees, project manag-er at the International Psychoso-cial Organisation (Ipso) in Kabul

and the driving force behind train-ing 280 psychosocial counsellorswho work across the country. Halfof the counsellors are women, arare ratio for any profession inAfghanistan, and an acknowledg-ment that wives and families alsosuffer from trauma, despite oftenbeing removed from the frontline.Domestic violence, for instance, isrampant in Afghanistan, and is of-ten unleashed by trauma. Wom-en don t necessarily face traumadirectly but traumatised men aremore violent, and that increasesfamily conflicts, said Fariba Aminfrom the provincial hospital inZabul, who, along with dozens offellow counsellors, had come toKabul for a five-day trainingcourse.

For women, she said, counsel-ling is a rare chance to confide insomeone.

Afghan women are rarelyasked about their hopes anddreams, let alone what burdensthem. That someone sits downand listens to the woman is a treat-ment in itself, said Amin.

A UN-sponsored surveyfound that in 2005, 16.5% of Af-ghans suffered from mental disor-

ders. The problem is likely to havegrown since then. The Afghan gov-ernment has made tackling mentalillness a priority and developed anational mental health strategy. Allprovincial hospitals now offercounselling. Counselling is free, andeven available online.

Quedees, 35, discovered psy-chosocial counselling in 2004,while in medical school, during astint as a translator for a foreignNGO.

She found the therapy reso-nating with ideas she had harbouredherself but never articulated. I wasthe sort of person who alwaystalked a lot about my feelings, andI remember my friends made funof me, she said with a smile. ButQuedees s counsellors are work-ing against long-held traditions anda culture of stigmatisation of thementally ill. Faced with mental dis-order, many resort to drugs or su-perstitious practices that oftencause more harm than good. Crit-ics claim the treatment at shrineslike Mia Ali Baba is a hoax, whichsedates patients suffering fromhunger and maltreatment ratherthan curing them. Still, locals main-tain a strong belief in their healing

powers. One of them, NasibullahSubara, said the treatment hadhelped his nephew.

Before, he didn t sleep. Hehad a short temper and botheredhis family. But now he doesn thave those problems, Subara said.The $20 cost of the treatment atthe shrine is cheaper than medi-cine or a trip to the nearest hospi-tal. As a result, the shrine s 16 cellsare often full. Modern therapy isalso at odds with the sense of pri-vacy so paramount in Afghan cul-ture. Many people don t like theconcept of counselling. It is notappropriate in our culture to shareintimate matters and family se-crets, said Fatma Dauladzai, acounsellor from Paktia province.But while the idea of counsellinghas yet to take firm root, women,especially, are growing more recep-tive.

Wahid Nurzad, a male coun-sellor from Herat, recalled a groupsession for people who had expe-rienced domestic violence, whereone 35-year-old woman suddenlystarted crying: When these tearsof mine are falling, I feel lighter,she had said. I forget the suffer-ing I have gone through.

Dr Fareshta Quedees, project manager at the InternationalPsychosocial Organisation in Kabul, at a training session forcounsellors. Photograph: Sune Engel Rasmussen

Residents of southern Zabul prov-ince have demanded government tobuilt university for them.

They argue that government isnot paying attention to the educa-tion system in this province.

Some elders who had gatheredin Zabul s capital Qalat said thatthey want their kids to study tobecome doctors, engineers and ac-quire other degrees but they can-not proceed with their educationbecause there is no university inthis province.

Haji Atta Jan Haqbayan, headof the provincial council and a com-munity elder said that due to secu-rity concerns, high-school gradu-ates especially girls are unable togo to other provinces to acquiredegrees.

Some schoolgirls from BibiKhala High school said that thereis no aim in their life.

Bibi Aisha, a student from thisschool said: We are not allowedto go to Jalalabad, Kabul and otherprovince to continue our educa-tion, she said, adding that Gov-ernment need to build universityfor us.

Khadija, a student of grade12th said: Others study to be-come something in the future, theyhave an aim, but we spend 12 yearsand at the end it is nothing. shesaid while expressing her frustra-tions.

When the principle of thisschool was asked about the futureof these girls, she said: after grad-uation they just go home like their12 years went in vain. (KP)

Dehsabz Barikab City Develop-ment Authority (DCDA), Inde-pendent Board of Kabul New CityDevelopment (KNC), announcedWednesday that the New KabulCity will be equipped with the re-newable energy.

During a visit to DCDAHeadquarter in Kabul, the GermanZasusArrow Group of Companiespresented a technical proposal forequipping one of the initial PhaseOne Projects with Renewable En-ergy Sources. Their commitmentincluded investment in initiation ofRenewable Energy sources for themega project, the statement said.

According to DCDA, ZasuAr-row is one of Europe s fourth larg-est German based group of com-panies in producing renewable en-ergy. ZasuArrow has so farplanned, installed and operatedseveral renewable energy powerplants across the globe.

ZasuArrow as a green compa-ny has the full spectrum of renew-able energy solutions from initia-tion to operation with the help oflatest technology i.e. Solar, Wind,Hydro Power and Fossil fuel en-ergies.

Subsequently, Dipl. Eng. Al-ham Omar Hotaki Deputy andActing CEO of Dehsabz-BarikabCity Development Authority(DCDA) briefed the gathering onthe Technical, Social, Environmen-tal and Economic viabilities andfeasibility of KNC project devel-opment and stated that KNCproject shall be manifesting eco-nomic and social change in thecountry. He added that, the City sability to attract at least USD 8billion investments in the initialstages of development is a condu-cive approach towards attractingnational and international invest-ments in the country.

Lastly, the board of manage-ment of Dehsabz Barikab CityDevelopment Authority (DCDA)promised to conduct a feasibilitystudy on solar and wind energysources at Phase-I of KNC and toshare the final result of the studywith ZasuArrow in the near fu-ture, based on which ZasuArrowshall be submitting their final tech-nical proposal to DCDA for fur-ther processes.

This comes as DCDA officialsannounced late in December lastyear that the construction of Kab-ul New City is ready to kick off,pending an approval from the Pres-idential Palace to start the con-struction work.

The officials further added thatDCDA-KNC has signed five agree-ments with the companies to con-struct 55,000 residential houses,and the companies are prepared tostart their work.

Kabul New City is almost twotimes bigger than the current cityof Kabul, where 600,000 residen-tial houses would be built whichwould be completed in two phas-es and in 15 years period.

According to DCDA officials,residential houses would be builtfor 1.5 million in the first phase ofthe construction work of KabulNew City, while further houseswould be built for another 1 mil-lion people in the second phase,with the construction work esti-mated to cost round $80 billion,where the private sector wouldhave a major role in terms of fi-nancing the construction work.

The construction design ofKabul New City was completedaround 8 years ago where local andinternational experts contributed inpreparing the master plan of thecity which would be built in Deh-sabz area of Kabul. (KP)

Haqqanimemberjailed underfake namefor two years

Zabulresidentsdemanduniversity

Kabul NewCity to beequippedwith renewalenergy

According to DCDA, ZasuAr-row is one of Europe s fourthlargest German based groupof companies in producingrenewable energy. ZasuArrowhas so far planned, installedand operated severalrenewable energy powerplants across the globe.

PESHAWAR: Currently in thethick of a succession struggle, theTaliban are not ready for resum-ing talks with the administrationof President Ashraf Ghani untilthe resolution of their internalbickering, a Pakistani official saidon Wednesday.

Islamabad hosted the firstface-to-face peace negotiationsbetween the two sides in July, buta second round that was due afterEidul Fitr had to be put on iceafter reports of Taliban supremeleader Mullah Omar s death wereleaked to the media. Followingcancellation of the talks and astring of deadly attacks in Kabul,Afghan-Pakistan relations onceagain came under strain, with Pres-ident Ghani taking a swipe at Is-lamabad for failing to rein in ter-rorists on its soil. The securityofficial, who did not want to benamed, confided to Pajhwok Af-ghan News US National SecurityAdvisor Susan Rice, during herrecent visit to Islamabad, askedPakistanto do more to ensure theearly resumption of Afghan peaceparleys. At meetings with PrimeMinister Nawaz Sharif and armychief Gen. Raheel Sharif, Rice re-affirmed America s interest in seek-ing a settlement of the conflict inAfghanistan. The official said shepushed Pakistan to lend its weightto the Afghan reconciliation effort.He added the prime minister andhis army chief met Tuesday nightin Islamabad to discuss the Af-ghan reconciliation process. GenRaheel briefed Sharif on his meet-ings with Rice and Special Assis-tant to President Obama for SouthAsian Affairs Dr Peter Lavoy.Pakistan has sought time for ar-

ranging a second round of talksbetween the Taliban and Afghangovernment representatives, thesource said, adding the insurgentswanted to sort out their differenc-es over Mullah Mansoor s ap-pointment before returning to thenegotiating table. Sources said themilitary leadership told the USdignitaries that although Pakistanand the US were on the same pagein connection with the Afghan rec-onciliation process, the AfghanTaliban were not willing to returnto the negotiating table until reso-lution of their internal rifts.(Pajhwok)

KABUL: First Vice-PresidentGen. Abdul Rashid Dostum, re-turning to Kabul from counterin-surgency operation in the north,has sought military assistancefrom Russia. Some weeks back,Dostum visited Afghanistan sembattled north to lead the oper-ation against the Taliban in Fary-ab and Sar-i-Pul provinces. Hehinted at a similar military action

in other provinces. On his returnto Kabul, the VP told reporterson Monday night said the IslamicState, also known by its Arabicacronym Daesh, wanted to con-duct terror attacks in Afghanistan,Central Asia and Russia. Moscowmust be mindful of the Daeshthreat, he stressed, asking region-al states to evolve plans to counterthe group s nefarious designs. He

urged Russia to give Afghanistanweapons, warplanes and helicop-ters. He argued military assistancefrom Moscow was beneficial forKabul because many Afghantroops still used Russian weap-ons and were skilled in usingthem. Gen. Dostum billed the mil-itary sweep in the north as pro-ductive, saying securing the areaspurged of militants was the re-

sponsibility of interior and de-fence ministries. Faryab and Sar-i-Pul had been cleared of rebels,including Daesh, Uzbek andChechen fighters, he claimed. Butlast night, the insurgents regainedcontrol of 22 villages and two ba-zaars, which government forceshad captured during the operationin the Qaisar district of Faryab.Dostum said militant leaderSheikh Maulana and Qari Zabi-hullah, commander of Uzbek andChechen fighters, had been killedduring the operation. SheikhMaulana was the biggest ISI agentkilled. A day after his death, Gen.Hamid Gul passed away and thePakistan defence minister wasalso stunned, he remarked.

Dostum added: The presi-dent and the National SecurityCouncil (NSC) decided I shouldvisit the north. I understood thefall of Faryab would mean the lossof the entire north

The VP rejected allegationsthat he had been to the north forthe genocide of a certain ethniccommunity, insisting no securityofficial had entered the houses ortents of Pashtuns.

If allowed by the presidentand NSC, I m ready to go to Nan-garhar, Kunduz or anywhere todismantle Daesh and Pakistanimilitant hideouts, he remarked.

Gen. Dostum asked the Unit-ed Nations and the internationalcommunity to break their silenceon what Pakistan was doing inAfghanistan. (Pajhwok)

US stresses earlyresumption ofAFGHAN PEACEPARLEYS

FAIZABAD: Five hundreds in-ternally displaced families wereassisted with food items in thenortheastern province of Badakhs-han on Wednesday, officials said.

A total of 45 tonnes of fooditems were provided by the Af-ghanistan National Disaster Man-agement Authority (ANDMA) toIDPs from Yamgan, Jurm andWarduj districts. The affected fam-ilies are currently in Jurm andBaharak districts, ANDMA pro-vincial head Syed Abdullah Hum-ayun, told Pajhwok Afghan News.Each family received a 50-kg bagof flour, a 20-kg bag of rice, fivekilos of sugar, five litres of gheeand 10 kilos of macaroni in Jurmand Baharak districts. The aid isnot sufficient for our families. Weare confused where to go to saveour families in the coming win-ter, remarked one of the IDPsfrom the Khostak area of Jurmdistrict, Ahmadullah. Up to 1,150families, which left their houses

500 displaced families get food aid in Badakhshan

over the past nine months of warin their areas, were identified byNGOs, but more than half of theIDPs were deprived of assistance,the provincial council head said.Abdullah Naji Nazari warned:

The problems of IDPs will doublein the next winter because most ofthe people are living in open area orin tents. If their shelter problem wasnot resolved, the situations will be-come serious. (Pajhwok)

QALAT: A 65-year-old man com-mitted suicide over poverty in theShinkai district of southern Zabulprovince, officials and neighbourssaid on Wednesday.

The grey-bearded farmernamely Raz Mohammad claimedhis life in Shero village of Sewriarea because he was unable to eco-nomically support his family, thedistrict police chief said.

Humayun Gulzar told Pajh-wok Afghan News that police hadstarted their investigation into theincident but no one had been ar-rested.

A resident of Shero village,Ibrahim Jan, told Pajhwok AfghanNews Raz Mohammad was a farm-er and the only bread-winner forhis family.

Mohammad committed sui-cide after drought and natural di-sasters severely hit crops this sea-son in the area and he found him-self unable to pay 20,000 Paki-stani rupees he had borrowed inthe village, the resident said.

Ibrahim Jan said Raz Moham-mad twice attempted to kill him-self on Monday night but his at-tempts were thwarted by his chil-dren and wife.

However, on Tuesday RazMohammad hanged himself froma tree and when people reachedthe scene he was dead.

Another resident, Abdul Hadi,told Pajhwok Afghan News arearesidents were struggling with eco-nomic and other problems due toinsecurity, drought and jobless-ness. The government should re-solve problems the people faced,he said.

He said Raz Mohammad lefthis family devastated and the gov-ernment and aid agencies shouldsupport them. He said local resi-dents were also heartbroken overthe incident. (Pajhwok)

Poverty prompts Zabulman to commit suicide

12 rebels,civilian killedin KunduzclashesKUNDUZ CITY: At least a doz-en militants and one civilian havebeen killed in a fresh wave of vio-lence in troubled northern Kunduzprovince, an official said onWednesday. Kunduz police chiefBrig. Gen. Mohammad Qasim Jan-galbagh told Pajhwok AfghanNews the 12 militants were killedduring separate clashes with secu-rity forces in Shura Khak andAqtash areas of Khanabad districton Tuesday night. The dead rebelsincluded two commanders MullahAbdur Rahim and Mullah AhmadShah and their eight fighters. Theywere killed in Shura Khak area, hesaid. He said police confiscatedtwo dead bodies of the militantsand captured one rebel in wound-ed condition. However, the Tali-ban on their website claimed thefighters putting up resistanceagainst Afghan forces killed eightsoldiers and wounded nearly adozen others. They said the clash-es left three rebels dead and fourothers wounded. Kunduz Provin-cial Council head MohammadYousuf Ayubi expressed his con-cern over the growing insecurityand said thousands of displacedfamilies had arrived in KunduzCity from different areas of Kha-nabad district. (Pajhwok)

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AFGHANISTAN TIMESTHURSDAY . SEPTEMBER 03, 2015

Clashes over draft con-stitution kill 5 in Nepal

KATHMANDU: Violent protestsover a draft of a new constitutionbroke out Tuesday in Nepal’ssouthern plains, the latest strife toimperil the new charter and drawaccusations of police brutalityfrom local leaders.

At least five people were killedby police gunfire in Birgunj andKalaiya, two towns in southernNepal, said Keshav Raj Ghimire,the chief district officer of Parsa,which encompasses Birgunj.

Hundreds of protesters in Bir-gunj defied a curfew on Tuesday,vandalizing government offices andburning buildings after police of-ficers killed one person on Mon-day, Mr. Ghimire said. Four peo-ple were killed there on Tuesday,and another was fatally shot in thenearby town of Kalaiya.

Nepalese police officers de-taining a protester in Kathmanduon Sunday. Members of the Tharuethnic group have rebelled againsta draft constitution that does notestablish a separate territory forthem.Plan for New Nepal DistrictsDraws Deadly Protests and At-

tacks on PoliceAUG. 24, 2015Maoist opposition leaders in

Nepal threw chairs at members ofthe governing parties at a meetingon Tuesday.Brawl Disrupts Draft-ing of Constitution in NepalJAN.20, 2015

Protests have intensified in thepast two weeks over Nepal’s at-tempts to draft a new constitution,an effort that began in 2008. Argu-ments over the administrative di-vision of Nepal, which has beencentrally governed for more thantwo centuries, have been a majorstumbling block. There is deep dis-agreement over how to combineNepal’s dozens of local districtsinto a workable number of prov-inces, and whether to do so alongethnic lines. Ethnic groups includ-ing the Madhesis in the southernplains have demanded greater po-litical voice, which they say thecurrent division of provinces di-lutes. Since the boundaries of thenew provinces were revealed lastmonth, more than 20 people havebeen killed across the country inprotests, including at least six po-

lice officers in western Nepal onAug. 24, after lawmakers present-ed a revised draft of the constitu-tion to Parliament. Laxman LalKarna, a Madhesi leader, said thatthe protesters in Birgunj had beenpeaceful, and that the police offic-ers were the ones who used force.“Yesterday, they killed Dilip Chau-rasiya while he was walking alone,”said Mr. Karna, a member of theUnified Democratic Madhesi Fo-rum, an umbrella group of the com-munity’s parties. “More peoplewere killed when they came to thestreet to oppose the police brutal-ity.” Madhesi party leaders say thedraft charter would dilute theirgroup’s power by combining theirdistricts with those dominated byother ethnic groups. PrakashAdhikari, spokesman for PrimeMinister Sushil Koirala, said thatthe government had set up a teamto broach informal talks with theMadhesi leaders, at least two ofwhom had arrived in Kathmanduon Tuesday evening.

“Given the situation, we hopethe talks will begin soon,” he said.

RAWALPINDI: Chief of ArmyStaff General Raheel Sharif onWednesday approved death sen-tences of five “hardcore terrorists”,according to a statement issued byInter-Services Public Relations(ISPR).

The condemned terrorists in-clude persons involved in the at-tack and subsequent breakout fromBannu Jail, attacking police offi-cials in Gadap town near Karachi,destroying a girls school in Khy-ber agency and an attack on a po-lio vaccination team, said a state-ment released by the ISPR.

This is the second approval ofdeath sentences by the army chieffollowing Supreme Court’s recentjudgment giving legal cover to theestablishment of military courts inthe country.

Out of the six terrorists sen-tenced today, five were awardedthe death sentence and one wasawarded life imprisonment, ac-cording to the ISPR.

Political parties had unani-mously agreed over the issue ofsetting up military courts to tack-le terrorism cases in the countryfollowing the gruesome attack onthe Army Public School in Pesha-war in December 2014, followingwhich the Parliament passed the21st constitutional amendment toset up the said courts.

President Mamnoon Hussainhad also promulgated an ordinancefurther revising the recentlyamended Army Act to ostensiblyaid the functioning of militarycourts by allowing for trials incamera, i.e without the presenceof the public or the media, and overvideo link if necessary.

The Supreme Court in a ma-jority ruling upheld the establish-ment of military courts in Paki-stan. Petitions challenging the 21stamendment were dismissed in amajority 11-6 vote of the 17-mem-ber SC bench. Chief Justice Nasir-ul Mulk and Justice Dost Muham-mad announced the verdict.

In a 14-3 majority vote, peti-tions challenging the 18th amend-

ment were also dismissed by thebench. Judges provided sevenopinions and two additional noteson the ruling. The ISPR statementalso issued details of the convictsand the crimes for which they weresentenced. Civilian MuhammadSabir Shah alias Ikram Ullah s/oSher Hazrat: The convict was anactive member of proscribed or-ganisation. He was found involvedin abetting the murder of Advo-cate Syed Arshad Ali in Lahore.He admitted his offence before themagistrate and the trial court. Hewas tried on solitary charge andawarded the death sentence.

Civilian Hafiz MuhammadUsman alias Abbas alias Asad s/oAli Dost: The convict was an ac-tive member of proscribed organi-sation. He was found involved insectarian killings in Quetta and anattack on police officials. He wasconvicted for killing of Hassan AliYousafi, advocate Waliat Hussainand other civilians. He also abet-ted in the murder of two industri-alists namely Syed Talib Agha and

Syed Jawad Agha belonging to aparticular sect. He was also con-victed for attacking and killing fourpolice officials, including DSPHassan Ali, Constables Nasrullah,Sifatullah and Muhammad Taqi.He admitted his offence before themagistrate and the trial court. Hewas tried on eleven charges andawarded the death sentence. Civil-ian Asad Ali alias Bhai Jan: Theconvict was an active member ofTehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).He was found involved in posses-sions of arms and explosives andattacking officials of the SindhPolice, in the Quaidabad area ofKarachi which resulted in the deathof three individuals including DSPKamal Mangon and ASI AkbarHussain and injuries to nine otherindividuals including three headconstables. He admitted his of-fences before the magistrate andthe trial court. He was tried on fivecharges and awarded the death sen-tence. Civilian Tahir s/o Mir ShahJahan: The convict was an activemember of Tehrik-e- Taliban Paki-

stan. He was involved in attacking/breaking of Bannu Jail owing towhich number of terrorists man-aged to escape from the jail. Hewas also found involved in attackson Law Enforcement Agencieswhich resulted in death of one sol-dier and injuries to another soldier.He admitted his offence before themagistrate and the trial court. Hewas tried on three charges andawarded death sentence.

Civilian Fateh Khan s/oMukaram Khan: The convict wasan active member of proscribedorganisation. He was found in-volved in the murder of a civilian,attacking polio workers, individu-als of law enforcement agencies andarmed forces personnel which re-sulted in the death of a child, elev-en Khasadars, two army officers,twenty two soldiers and injuriesto one civilian, nine Khasadars andtwenty five soldiers. He admittedhis offences before the magistrateand the trial court. He was tried oneight charges and awarded thedeath sentence.

Iran wants to give new impetus to its relations with BangladeshIran is poised to give a new impe-tus to its relations with Bangladeshfollowing historic nuclear deal withworld powers to lift sanctions.Tehran’s Ambassador in DhakaAbbas Vaezi said they werelaunching a flurry of activities in-cluding high-level visits to give afresh momentum to the relations,and boost trade and investments.

He was sharing the potentialsof bilateral relations at the Diplo-matic Correspondents’ Associa-tion, Bangladesh (DCAB)’s talk onTuesday at National Press Club.

The Islamic Republic has anabundance of oil and natural gasreserves, but international sanc-tions over its nuclear programmehave crippled its economy withrestrictions on trade.

The Western powers reacheda deal only last month after yearsof negotiations with Tehran on lim-iting its nuclear activity in exchangefor lifting the economic sanctions.

The ambassador said it was a“win-win” negotiation with themajor powers because “somethingwe accepted, something they ac-cepted”.

“But through this, most of theunfair sanctions will be removed,”

he said, “Iran is ready to have co-operation and trade (with Bang-ladesh) in many fields.”

“We will be able to help Bang-ladesh in many ways.”

He said they could buy jute,clothes and agricultural productsfrom Bangladesh and at the sametime, could export oil, natural gasand petrochemicals.

He said they had already in-vited Bangladesh’s state ministerfor power and energy to visit Te-hran to discuss and negotiate allthe issues related to cooperationin energy sector.

As Iran was working to rollout a gas pipeline to India throughPakistan, the ambassador said,Dhaka could also discuss withNew Delhi to get gas from thatchannel.

He said the cooperation couldalso be extended in the field of sci-ence, culture and education.

Iran established diplomatic tieswith Bangladesh soon after its in-dependence in 1971, though peo-ple-to-people relations date backto several centuries.

The envoy said they wouldbring ‘Sufi’ festival to Dhaka as ithad some historic links with this

region, and would hold film festival. “Our students also want to study in Bangladesh,” he said, recalling the early days after the Islamic Revolution in 1979 when many Bangladeshidoctors served in the human resources-starved Iran. He said during the period of sanctions, Iran survived with the help of its “brotherly countries like Bangladesh”. “They imposedinhuman sanctions. Even we could not buy medicines,” he said, calling the action of the Western powers as “double standards”.

UK leads G20nations in FDIflow to IndiaLONDON: The latest data to confirm Britain's increasing interest ininvesting in India will make PM Narendra Modi happy a couple ofmonths before he embarks on his maiden visit to the United Kingdom.The UK has become the largest investor in India among all G20 coun-tries with a combined revenue of more than $54 billion in India. Be-tween the year 2000 and 2015, UK's FDI into India amounts to $22billion - 9 per cent of all FDI in the country. UK leads G20 nations inFDI flow to India In total, G20 nations invested $ 73.9 billion in Indiabetween 2000-2015 with the UK being the single largest G20 investorinto India followed by Japan ($ 18.3 bn), the US ($13.7bn), Germany ($7.6 bn) and France ($ 4.5 billion).

As India's largest employer, UK firms employ around 691,000 peo-ple across the country - 5.5 per cent of total organized private sectorjobs in the country. Between 2000 and 2015, UK FDI generated around138,000 direct jobs, 7 per cent of the total 1.96 million jobs generated byFDI in India. India's massive talent pool was the main reason for 63 percent of the British companies to believe in India's potential while India'srecent growth story made 86 per cent of them turn to interest towardsthe Asian giant. English being an official language has helped, too, with53 per cent of the companies relying on it while 40 per cent said it wasthe country's stable government. Confederation for British Industry'sfirst Sterling Assets India report sponsored by PwC UK and broughtout in association with the UK India Business Council says that Maha-rashtra and Delhi have attracted the bulk of Britain's FDI into India - 26per cent and 20 per cent respectively. The chemicals sector attracts thelion's share of British investment in India, at $5.78 billion (26 per cent ofUK FDI), followed by the pharmaceutical sector at $3.76 billion (17 percent of UK FDI) and the food processing sector at $3.05 billion (14 percent of UK FDI). Katja Hall, the confederation's deputy DG, said,"The economic relationship between India and the UK is in fine fettle.The UK has played a significant role in India's growth journey, investingmore and creating more jobs than any other G20 nation. PM Modi'ssteps to improve the ease of doing business in India are a great boost andwe look forward to the EU-India FTA talks resuming." British primeminister David Cameron recently asked Modi to help "the EU-Indiafree-trade agreement get going again" and "for structural reform in Indiato help open up her economy and lead to higher growth rates". Cameronmet the Indian PM on the sidelines of the G-20 Summit in Brisbanerecently. Modi met an EU delegation who conveyed that the 28-nationbloc is keen to "re-engage" with India on trade".

Meeting with CEC yielded positive results: ImranChief Election Commissioner ofPakistan (CEC) Sardar Raza onWednesday reaffirmed the ElectionCommission of Pakistan’s commit-ment to implement all technicalreforms ahead of the next elections.

The statement came after ameeting with Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan.”The meeting today was positiveand work on the findings of thejudicial commission report has al-ready commenced,” Imran saidwhile speaking to media.

“We (PTI) submitted our res-ervations and discussed the issuespertaining to the 2013 elections,”Imran said, adding that “the ECPwill implement all technical re-forms to address the issues facedin previous elections.”

Although the technical reformswill not address the rigging, Imranwas assured that any negligencefrom the ECP would be addressed.Further, Raza assured Imran thatthe misconduct and lack of struc-ture during the 2013 electionswould not be repeated in the nextelections.

Commenting on the removal ofJudge Kazim Malik from his post,Imran said that “our request forMalik’s removal from the post tobe withdrawn was also agreed bythe CEC.”

Further, Army presence is alsoset to be greater during the nextgeneral elections. Imran assuredthat his party was no longer theparty which took part in the 2013elections and has changed consid-erably.

“We have the youth, we havesupport, we have all the peoplebehind us like no other party,” hesaid.

Concluding the presser, the PTI chief offered his condolences to the family of Abdul Hafeez Pirzada, author of the 1973 Constitution, followinghis death in London in the early hours of Wednesday.

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AFGHANISTAN TIMESTHURSDAY . SEPTEMBER 03, 2015

News-in-Brief

Saudi-led strikestarget Houthis atair base in Sanaa

The Saudi-led coalition has tar-geted the al-Dailami air baseand destroyed its arms ware-houses on Wednesday north ofthe Yemeni capital and close toSanaa’s airport.

Eye witnesses said explo-sions rocked Sanaa at dawn assmoke billowed, indicating thatthe arms warehouse seized byHouthi militias had been tar-geted. This strike comes afterdozens of Houthi militias werekilled on Tuesday after a Scudmissile went off while it wasbeing launched from the airbase. The coalition has also in-tensified its raids on Houthiposition in the governorate ofMarib and used Apache heli-copters for surveillance pur-poses in a bit to resume its cam-paign of forcing out the mili-tias from the governorate.

“EighteenTurkishworkers

kidnapped inBaghdad”

BAGHDAD/ANKARA :Gunmen in military uniformseized 18 Turkish workersfrom a sports stadium theywere building in northeasternBaghdad on Wednesday, theircompany said, in what Anka-ra said appeared to have beena targeted attack. Diplomatshave said Turkey could sufferreprisals after abandoningmonths of reticence to launchair strikes against Islamic Statein neighboring Syria and openits bases to a U.S.-led coali-tion fighting the Sunni Mus-lim militants. The workerswere taken in the predominant-ly Shi'ite district of Habibiya,Iraqi Interior Ministryspokesman Brigadier GeneralSaad Maan said. There was noimmediate claim of responsi-bility, but Turkish DeputyPrime Minister NumanKurtulmus said investigatorsin both countries were coop-erating. "People dressed inmilitary uniforms broke downthe door at 3 a.m. (midnightGMT) and abducted all thesepeople," said Ugur Dogan,chief executive of Nurol Hold-ing, which owns the construc-tion firm. Last year, 46 Turk-ish citizens were seized byIslamic State militants in theIraqi city of Mosul. They werereleased unharmed after morethan three months in captivi-ty. Islamic State regularlyclaims suicide bomb attacks inBaghdad, but Shi'ite militiasand other armed groups arealso active there. The Shi'ite-led government in Baghdad hasintensified security in the citythis week ahead of plans toease access to the fortifiedGreen Zone and eliminate no-go zones set up by militias andpolitical parties. Two policesources said the gunmen hadarrived in a convoy of blacksports utility vehicles. Maandenied reports that up to threeIraqis had also been abducted,and put the number of peoplekidnapped at 16.

Russia risksJapanese ire withFar East warcommemorationMOSCOW : Russia staged amilitary parade on Wednesdayto commemorate seizing agroup of Pacific islands fromJapan at the end of World WarTwo, a move likely to inflametensions over a long-runningterritorial dispute with Tokyo.The show of force, the first ofits kind on the island of Sakha-lin in Russia's Far East, is partof a push by President VladimirPutin to showcase his coun-try's military might at a timewhen ties with the West arestrained over the Ukraine cri-sis. State television showedRussian soldiers goose-step-ping through streets lined withflowers and war veterans tocelebrate what Moscow callsthe liberation of Sakhalin andthe nearby Kurile islands chainfrom Japan in 1945. The pa-rade included 700 soldiers, 24combat vehicles and 14 heli-copters and planes, the Inter-fax news agency reported. Sa-khalin, an island rich in oil andgas, is just over 40 kilometers(24.85 miles) from Hokkaido -the most northern of Japan'smain islands. A spokesman forRussia's Eastern Military dis-trict said it was the first timesuch a parade had been stagedon Sakhalin. "This is the deci-sion of the leadership of thecountry," he said. The com-memoration is likely to wors-en already frayed relations withTokyo which lays claim to thenearby Southern Kuriles,known in Japan as the North-ern Territories. That dispute isso acrimonious that Moscowand Tokyo .

Supporters of the internationalnuclear agreement with Iran movedwithin one vote of musteringenough support to protect the dealin the U.S. Congress on Tuesdaywhen two more Democratic sena-tors said they would support thepact. Senators Bob Casey andChris Coons, known as Iran hard-liners, both said they backed theagreement announced on July 14between the United States, fiveother world powers and Tehran.

Altogether 31 Senate Demo-crats and two independents whovote with them now support thedeal, a potential legacy foreignpolicy achievement for DemocraticPresident Barack Obama.

Backers will need 34 votes inthe Senate or 146 in the House ofRepresentatives to sustainObama's veto if a Republican-sponsored resolution of disap-proval passes both chambers.

Both Casey and Coons said

they had had serious questionsabout the agreement, but decidedit was the best option for limitingIran's nuclear program and prefer-able to the United States breakingfrom the other countries that signedthe deal. "I was never persuadedby arguments that we could ... re-negotiate successfully and get a re-sult," Casey told Reuters in a tele-phone interview.

"I will support this agreementbecause it puts us on a known path

of limiting Iran's nuclear programfor the next 15 years with the fullsupport of the international com-munity," Coons said in a speech atthe University of Delaware.

Supporters hope they willgather the 41 votes to block a dis-approval resolution in the Senateand keep Obama from having touse his veto power. Congress hasuntil Sept. 17 to pass a resolution.

Two Senate Democrats op-pose the nuclear deal, along with

an overwhelming majority of Re-publicans. Several House Demo-crats announced support for thedeal on Tuesday, including AdamSmith, the top Democrat on theHouse Armed Services Committee.More than 90 House members, allDemocrats, now back the deal.

A two-thirds majority in eachchamber is required to override apresidential veto and torpedo apact in which Tehran agreed tocurtail its nuclear program in ex-

change for relief from economicsanctions. Some pro-Israel groupsechoed Israeli Prime Minister Ben-jamin Netanyahu's insistence thatthe agreement would threaten Is-rael's existence by empoweringIran. Casey said he had heard "alot of passionate arguments" fromboth sides but that, despite reser-vations, he concluded that theagreement, with a strong deterrencepolicy, was the best way to keepIran from building a bomb.

Former CIA chief and retired gen-eral David Petraeus wants the U.S.to consider working with somemembers of an Al-Qaeda-affiliat-ed organization to tackle the ISISin Syria, he said . In a statement toCNN, Petraeus said some mem-bers of the Qaeda-linked Al-NusraFront might be persuaded to jointhe coalition battling the ISISgroup. “We should under no cir-cumstances try to use or co-optNusra, an Al-Qaeda affiliate inSyria, as an organization againstISIL,” Petraeus told CNN, usinganother acronym for the ISISgroup. “But some individual fight-

ers, and perhaps some elements,within Nusra today have undoubt-edly joined for opportunistic ratherthan ideological reasons: they sawNusra as a strong horse, and theyhaven’t seen a credible alternative,as the moderate opposition has yetto be adequately resourced.” So,Petraeus argued, it may eventual-ly be possible to “peel off so-called‘reconcilables’ who would be will-ing to renounce Nusra and alignwith the moderate opposition tofight against Nusra, ISIL, and (Syr-ian President Bashar al-Assad.)”Petraeus became a household namein the U.S. when he oversaw the

troop “surge” in Iraq in 2007, andU.S. leaders credited him for sal-vaging the troubled war effort. Partof that operation saw the decorat-ed general convince Sunni fightersto stop fighting with Qaeda and towork with the US military. Politi-cally toxic His statement on Tues-day followed the publication of astory in the Daily Beast that point-ed out the irony of the U.S. work-ing with anyone connected to Qae-da, which carried out the Septem-ber 11, 2001 attacks and triggeredAmerica’s so-called war on terror.The Daily Beast said several offi-cials it had spoken to found Pe-

traeus’s idea to be politically toxicand almost impossible to carry outand strategically risky. In his state-ment to CNN, Petraeus said usingany Nusra fighters would require“both the rise of much stronger,moderate opposition groups -backed, again, by the US and thecoalition seeking to defeat ISIL -and at the same time, intensifiedmilitary pressure on all extremistgroups.” Petraeus, 62, had a spec-tacular fall from grace this yearwhen he pleaded guilty to provid-ing classified secrets to his mis-tress. He was given two years’probation and a $100,000 fine.

Turkish policefire tear gasat Istanbul

protestTurkish police on Tuesday usedtear gas, rubber bullets and watercannon to disperse protestors incentral Istanbul, detaining over adozen people, an AFP photogra-pher said.

The rally, which gatheredsome 500 people, had begunpeacefully at Istiklal Street in thecentre of the European side of thecity.

Police intervened as demon-strators attempted to form a hu-man chain and shouted slogansagainst the government of Presi-dent Recep Tayyip Erdogan andits offensive against Kurdish mil-itants. Infographic: Turkish po-lice fire tear gas at Istanbul pro-test Jets from a water cannonwere fired down the middle of thestreet - a busy shopping area -and police used tear gas as dem-onstrators ran for cover. Anatoliareported that a total of 14 peoplehad been arrested. Widespreadcrackdown Meanwhile, Turkishpolice also raided the offices of aconglomerate linked to a U.S.-based cleric accused of plottingagainst Erdogan, a move seen by

critics as a bid to silence opposi-tion media two months ahead ofan election. Erdogan, who wantsthe ruling AK Party to win backa majority in a snap November 1election, accuses Gulen of seek-ing to overthrow him by meansof a “parallel structure” of sup-porters in the judiciary, police,the media and other institutions.

BUDAPEST: Hundreds of mi-grants protested in front of Budap-est's Keleti Railway Terminus fora second straight day on Wednes-day, shouting "Freedom, freedom!"and demanding to be let onto trainsbound for Germany from a stationthat has been closed to them. Cha-os this week at the station in theHungarian capital has become thelatest symbol of Europe's migra-tion crisis, the continent's worstsince the Balkan wars of the 1990s.More than 2,000 migrants, includ-ing families with children, werewaiting in the square at the stationwhile Hungarians with IDs andforeigners with valid passportscould board the trains. Hundredsof thousands of refugees fleeingwar and economic migrants escap-ing poverty have been arriving inEurope, on rickety boats across theMediterranean and over land across

the Balkan peninsula. Nearly allreach the EU on its southern oreastern outskirts and then presson for the richer and more gener-ous countries further north andwest, ignoring EU rules which re-quire them to wait for processingin the country where they first ar-rive. Germany, which is preparedto take by far the greatest number,has begun accepting asylum claimsfrom Syrian refugees regardless ofwhere they entered the EU, eventhough undocumented migrants aretheoretically barred from travelacross the bloc. That has causedconfusion for its neighbors, whichhave alternated this week betweenletting them through and blockingthem. Many have come overlandacross the Balkans through Hun-gary, which allowed thousands toboard trains for Germany on Mon-day but has since called a halt to

the travel, leaving migrants campedin the summer heat in centralBudapest. Asked if Hungarywould again let migrants boardtrains to Germany as it did onMonday, a government spokes-man said that Budapest wouldobserve European Union ruleswhich bar travel by those withoutvalid documents. The station hasbeen shut to migrants since Tues-day morning. "A train ticket doesnot overwrite EU rules," spokes-man Zoltan Kovacs added. Themigration crisis has polarized andconfounded the EU, which is com-mitted to the principle of accept-ing refugees fleeing real danger buthas no mechanism to compel its28 member states to share out theburden of receiving them. Twen-ty-six European countries haveeliminated border controls betweenthem under the EU's Schengen pro-

gram, leaving no effective mecha-nism in place to enforce the ban onundocumented migrants travelingwithin the bloc. Germany says thatdespite its decision to accept asy-lum applications from Syrianswho first arrive elsewhere in theEU, other states in the bloc shouldcontinue to demand migrants reg-ister and remain where they firstarrive.

With about 50 police blockingthe main gates to the Budapesttrain station, migrants filled thelarge sunlit square in the morning,playing cards, sleeping or chargingtheir phones on electrical outletsshared by television satellitetrucks. Willi Xylander, a 59 year-old German on holiday in Budap-est, checked out the scene, won-dering if it was safe for passage forregular travelers, including his wifeand daughter who would be arriv-

ing the next day. "We have heardso many stories about protestshere that we were concerned," hesaid. Agnes Halmos, a 30 year-oldnurse, said she was more sorry forthe migrants than scared of them."It's horrible that they are stuckhere, thousands of them with justfive portable toilets and no placeto spend a night," she said. "Thereare infants here, for crying outloud!" The relative calm wasabruptly interrupted as a group ofabout 100 young men approachedthe square, marching behind a card-board cutout Afghan flag in a tightformation. Their leader, 32-year-old Sanil Khan, said they hadspent long enough in Budapest andnow they want to move on to Ger-many. "I want my freedom, I havebeen on the road for a very longtime, and now I am in the Europe-an Union, and I want my free-

dom," he said, visibly agitated. Asthe column of men arrived in frontof the train station, they were im-mediately joined by hundreds ofothers, who broke into loud cheersand chants of "Freedom, freedom!"and "Germany, Germany!" Ayoung Middle Eastern man in histwenties, wearing a reversed base-ball cap and a windbreaker embla-zoned with the logo "CIA", waslifted above the crowd. He calledout to the crowd in Arabic: "Wheredo you want to go?" "Germany!"they shouted back. Hungarian po-lice said in a statement they wereacting in compliance with theSchengen code of border controls.They had stopped a van on themotorway leading from the Serbi-an border to Budapest which car-ried 10 Syrian and 10 Iraqi migrantsand detained the Serbian driver onsuspicion of human trafficking.

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THURSDAY .SEPTEMBER 03, 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 40:Property shall be safe from violation. No one shall be forbidden from owning property and acquiring it,unless limited by the provisions of law. No one’s property shall be confiscated without the order of the lawand decision of an authoritative court. Acquisition of private property shall be legally permitted only forthe sake of public interests, and in exchange for prior and just compensation. Search and disclosure ofprivate property shall be carried out in accordance with provisions of the law.

Strengthening Afghanistan’s ballot boxBy Naomi Rasmussen

Those familiar with Afghan elec-tions often note the lack of sub-stantive change from one electoralcycle to the next; election obser-vation reports cite the same issuesand recommendations for reformafter each election. Despite the lackof progress in previous efforts,there is cause for optimism. Theenvironment is ripe for genuineelectoral reform and Afghans areeager for change. Adopting reformsto the election system is criticalfor the National Unity Govern-ment given it is a key commitmentin the Sept. 20, 2014 agreementthat led to its formation. The uni-ty government — a result of thehighly contentious presidentialelection last year — was estab-lished based on an agreement be-tween rival candidates AshrafGhani and Abdullah Abdullah toform a parliamentary system ofgovernment. U.S. Secretary ofState John Kerry played a centralrole in brokering that agreement,making the U.S. government a keyactor with a vested interest in gen-uine reform. The agreement createdthe temporary position of ChiefExecutive Officer for Abdullah, therunner-up, and outlined a transi-tional process to formalize the newexecutive structure of the govern-ment

The agreement also called foran electoral reform commission tobe established “immediately.” Ittook Ghani nine months, but hedid ultimately appoint the tempo-rary 14-member Special ElectoralReform Commission (SERC)through decree on July 16, takinga significant step forward. The in-dividual members of the commis-sion have their allegiances — acommon reality with political ap-pointments — but they are a qual-ified group for the task at hand.Chairman Shah Sultan Akifi has astrong background in elections andhis ability to maintain the supportof both government leaders will beinvaluable throughout the process.

The president tasked theSERC to conduct an independentand thorough assessment of keyelection issues and develop short-term, medium-term, and long-termreform recommendations based ona widely inclusive consultativeprocess. The SERC has been fer-vently working seven days a weeksince its inaugural meeting withAbdullah on July 22 to completeits mandate during the parliament’ssummer recess, consulting withdomestic and international stake-holders in Kabul and select prov-inces.

The commission is digging intosome of the deeper issues, such asconsidering an alternative elector-al system to the commonly derid-ed Single Non-Transferable Votesystem, as well as the lingeringproblem of an insufficient voterregistration procedure. It is apromising sign that the recommen-dations are substantial and attemptto address fundamental deficien-cies of the current system. Thegrievances with the electoral pro-cess have remained largely the samesince Afghanistan’s first post-Tal-iban election in 2004, so the SERChas been able to use resources de-veloped by numerous domestic andinternational actors over the lastseveral years and not spend muchtime doing primary research or cre-ating solutions to newly discov-ered problems. The SERC present-ed its short-term recommendationsto Abdullah on Sunday who willreview and pass them on for thepresident’s consideration. Theshort-term reforms are meant tobe implemented ahead of upcom-ing — though currently unsched-uled — parliamentary and districtcouncil elections. The president

intends to adopt the reformsthrough decree before parliamentis back in session on Sept. 6.

There is more political will inthe current government to pursuesubstantive electoral reform thanunder former President HamidKarzai’s administration. Ghani isin desperate need of a “win.” Af-ghans are increasinglydiscontent with how little the gov-ernment has accomplished so far.Ghani made a few decisive, swiftactions within his first weeks inoffice and put civil servants on alertwith his shake up of the status quo,showing that his administrationwill operate based on hard workand results rather than complacen-cy and corruption. Since these ini-tial actions last autumn, however,a majority of Afghans believeGhani has been too focused on in-ternational relations, to the detri-ment of domestic initiatives thatcan improve their livelihoods.

One of the primary challengesfacing Ghani is the nature of hispartnership with Abdullah, whichis only loosely articulated in theunity agreement. The agreementcalls for parity in the selection ofnominees for high-level officialsand for consultation with regardsto other appointments. The prin-ciple is sound, but it has also beenan obstacle to finalizing ministeri-al appointments, establishing theSERC, and making other key deci-sions that would lead to greaterefficiency and better governance.

While he is a recognized allyof the electoral reform effort, Ab-dullah also needs district councilelections to secure his position inthe government. The temporaryCEO position can only become thepermanent prime minister as envi-sioned in the unity agreement ifdistrict councilors participate in aconstitutional Loya Jirga. WhileAfghanistan’s current electoral lawincludes provisions for districtcouncil elections, Afghanistan hasnever held such elections. There-fore this undertaking would requiresome essential reforms, includingsettling district boundaries, devel-oping a mandate for district coun-cils, and establishing an operatingstructure. District councils wouldbe completely new institutions inthe country’s governing structureand would need to be thoughtfullyintegrated as such.

Not only is there heightenedpolitical will for reform, but alsogreater citizen demand. Afghani-stan has a stronger and more vocalcivil society today than during pre-vious reform efforts. During themost recent 2013 effort, civil soci-ety shared recommendations andopinions with parliamentary com-mittees responsible for revising thelegal framework for elections. Intoday’s reform movement,the Afghanistan Civil Society Elec-tions Network, an organized coa-lition supported by DemocracyInternational, has been working tohold the unity government to itscommitment to electoral reformthrough public awareness initia-tives, direct advocacy with seniorgovernment officials, and ongoingconsultations with the SERC toprovide insight and support. Civilsociety has a seat at the table, help-ing to frame and lead the conversa-tion. The government has evenbrought some civil society leadersformally into the process by of-fering them official positions, aserious acknowledgment of theirvaluable contributions to advanc-ing democracy in Afghanistan. Aleading example of this is the ap-pointment of Sediqullah Tawhidiof the Afghan media organizationNai as deputy chairman of theSERC.

The SERC’s admirable workethic and civil society’s engage-ment are encouraging, but Afghan-istan is still only at the beginning

of an electoral reform process andthe transition Ghani and Abdullahpromised in the unity governmentagreement last September. Themost effective outcome will resultfrom transparency and accountabil-ity. The unity government leadersshould allow for a public commentperiod on the SERC’s recommen-dations before finalizing their de-cision and should not make chang-es to the reforms, especially notwithout consulting the SERC andexplaining their decision to thepublic. When they review the rec-ommendations this week and de-cide the way forward, they shouldbe certain to do so with these coredemocratic principles in mind.

Faced with the SERC’s recom-mendations this week, Ghani willhave the opportunity to demon-strate his commitment to institut-

ing fundamental changes to theelectoral system and thus, to thetransition he and his once rivalAbdullah committed to nearly ayear ago.

The United States has a lotriding on the current electoral re-form effort as well given its sub-stantial investment in supportinggood governance — and electionsin particular — in Afghanistan overthe last 14 years. Although theUnited States and other interna-tional allies have significantly re-duced their presence in Afghani-stan since last year, this is not thetime for the international commu-nity to withdraw support for elec-toral reform. Rather this is a criti-cal time to encourage and mirrorthe unity government’s commit-ment to a stronger, more democraticAfghanistan.

Turkey's bounty huntersBy David Lepeska

As its two-fronted war on terror heats up, Turkey is taking a pagefrom the world powers. In the wake of a suspected Islamic State ofIraq and the Levant (ISIL) bombing and almost daily attacks on itssecurity forces by Kurdish guerrillas, Ankara this week launched aprogramme to offer rewards of up to $1.4m for information on terror-ists operating within the country. According to the official gazette,informant rewards will be based on the "value of the information inpreventing terrorism crimes and catching the suspects". Anonymousreports on the identity or location of a suspected terrorist can beawarded up to $70,000, but the award can by multiplied by 20 if thesuspect is a terrorist leader or the crime exposed could have causedunrest. Can Turkey contain the threat from ISIL Interestingly, thereward system applies to everybody in Turkey, not just Turkishcitizens. Echoes from the globe Ankara has in the past offered muchsmaller payouts for terrorist information, but the new programmeechoes the more ambitious schemes in the United States and China. Inthe past year, Chinese authorities have begun offering significantrewards for terrorist information in Tibet and the autonomous Xin-jiang province. As in Turkey, the plan followed a series of attacks byseparatist militant group of a minority - Islamist Uighurs in China,the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, in Turkey. The US launchedits global Rewards for Justice programme in 1984, following a seriesof bombings on US embassies and bases in Lebanon and Kuwait.Currently topping the list are Abd al-Rahman Mustafa al-Qaduli, atop ISIL official ($7m reward), and Abu Mohammad al-Adnani, theISIL spokesman ($5m). Over three decades, the programme has paidout more than $125m and helped track down more than a dozenterrorist leaders, including Ramzi Yousef, who plotted the 1993 WorldTrade Center bombing, and Uday and Qusay Hussein, the sons offormer Iraqi President Saddam Hussein (that payout was the pro-gramme's largest ever, at $30m). Cynics might view Ankara's newrewards programme as another effort by President Recep TayyipErdogan and the Justice and Development Party to whip up morenationalist sentiment and divide Turkey between 'us' and 'them' in thelead up to a November 1 election. Yet, its success has been limited.True believers, terrorists tend to be loyal, rarely ratting on theirfighting brethren. They also tend to dislike and distrust powerfulgovernments. Confidential systems often fail, and informant namesfind a way to get out, blowing protection. Sometimes the reward ispaid out to the wrong person, as happened with the capture of the20th 9/11 bomber, Zacarias Moussaoui. And in some instances, thepayment is never made, as with the $5m reward for the capture of aColombian drug lord. The Turkish case Still, with its new policy,Turkey could take a major step forward in its fight against terrorism.The threat of further ISIL attacks is very real. Jihadis linked to thegroup have already made at least three successful attacks on Turkey,and a police intelligence report early this year estimated that ISIL hadup to 3,000 supporters within Turkey. And whatever one's view ofthe renewed Turkey-PKK conflict - the Kurdish militant group, whichis viewed as a terrorist group by the US and EU - the PKK has, in thepast 50 days, killed more than 65 Turkish security officers (Turkey,meanwhile, has killed several hundred Kurdish militants with its airstrikes.) Information that can help avoid further attacks or break upterrorist networks will make Turkish citizens safer. Q&A: Turkey's'fight against terrorism legitimate' But Ankara must be careful. First, itmust narrow its definition of terrorist. In recent days Turkey hasarrested foreign journalists on terror-related charges and raided nearlytwo dozen Gulen-backed businesses on accusations of terrorist fi-nancing. Tips of this nature should not be included in the rewardsprogramme. Some observers have criticised China's rewards programmefor going too far. In Urumqi, the capital of the Uighur region Xinjiang,for instance, police can reward people who report the production offace-covering gowns. Increasing violence Similarly, Ankara must bewary of rewarding information about, for instance, somebody whoprovides food or shelter to a person with distant links to Kurdishmilitants, or about a group advising PKK fighters to give up theirweapons. The government has already declared 120 areas in 15 prov-inces in southeast Turkey "special security zones", enabling harsherpolice and military tactics. The rewards programme is likely to fur-ther exacerbate tensions between Turks and Kurds, but expanding thedefinition of terrorist could lead to the widespread persecution Tur-key's southeast saw in the 1980s and 1990s, sparking broader con-flict and further destabilising a region already dealing with the falloutof Syria's war. The new programme may also spark rivalries betweenterrorist groups, from ISIL, to the PKK, to DHKP-C, as each tries toinform on the other.

For nearly 10 months, President Ashraf Ghani and his Chief Executive Abdullahremained at loggerheads over making up of the electoral reform commission. Nowthat it has been formed yet there is a new issue. This commission has submitted a listof proposals to the President and the Chief Executive, yet some of the social societyactivists look still concerned and want inclusion of some more proposals. The Af-ghanistan Civil Society Election Network (ACSEN) on Tuesday floated its own listof proposals before the commission and questioned the effectiveness of the propos-als already submitted by the commission. The civil society activists said the electoralreforms body should have shared the proposals with the people of the country be-fore submitting the list to the government for a final decision. The chief of the com-mission said they had visited 7 of the 34 provinces and picked the views and pro-posals of over 2,000 people on electoral reforms. He also adds the proposals float-ed by ACSEN have already been included in their already submitted proposals.Now that the commission has submitted the list of proposals, is this the end? Will thetwo leaders agree to the proposals while avoiding the bickering, which caused delayof the parliamentary elections? Soon after the submission of the proposals, some ofthe reactions showed their no quick end to the troubled reform process and thestalemate doesn’t come to an end seemingly. So, the government still looks to re-main in crisis. Some of the proposed reforms’ legality has already come under ques-tion. Moreover, the government also looks under stress and strain in matter of elec-tronic identity (e-ID) cards and the Afghan-word contention. There are some ele-ments who have long been trying to create ethnic tensions and if the governmentbows down before their pressure tomorrow even they will come out in full ask forthe re-naming of the country as they have sensitivity with word of Afghanistan. Thestory wouldn’t end here as they will not hesitate from changing the name of ournational currency “Afghani”. If such demands start emanating from these elements,will the government compromise and start issuing currencies with different names?The government must take a bold decision and settle the issue once and for all.Yesterday, protestors in Paktiya province took to the street and urged the govern-ment to include the word of “Afghan” in the e-ID cards. They warned if the govern-ment fails in putting the words of Afghan and Islam, they wouldn’t accept the e-IDcards. The government must realize that this is just the tip of the iceberg. Since thepresident himself is a highly learned man, he must have gone through the pages ofBritish history somewhere in his academic career. And he must have come acrossthe two names, Winston Churchill, a man who saved the British from humiliation anddefeat. And he must have also come across the name of Neville Chamberlain a manwho pushed the British in the war (1940) against Germany but soon showed himselfto be ill-equipped for the daunting job of saving Europe from Nazi conquest. In1938, Prime Minister Chamberlain signed the Munich Pact with Adolf Hitler, givingCzechoslovakia over to Germany while asking for peace in return. Peace was blownapart by Hitler’s invasion of Poland in 1939 and Chamberlain declared war on Ger-many but during the next eight months he failed to stand for the liberation of Europe.The British forces failed in staving off Germany from occupying Norway in April1940 and consequently, Chamberlain lost the support of many members of his Con-servative Party. Holland, Netherlands and Belgium were attacked on May 10. Andthe same day Chamberlain lost the confidence of the House of Commons. WinstonChurchill replaced him. And what followed afterwards is something that makes theBritish proud even today.

Churchill forged an all-party coalition and immediately won the popular supportof Britons. In his first speech before the House of Commons, on May 13, PrimeMinister Churchill declared that he had nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears, andsweat. He outlined his bold plans for British resistance. In the first year of his admin-istration, Britain stood alone against Nazi Germany, but Churchill promised his countryand the world that the British people would “never surrender.” They never did. Cur-rently Afghanistan needs a leader of his caliber. Is there any Afghan Churchill?

Electoral reforms, e-ID cardsand Afghan Churchill

Violence

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THURSDAY .SEPTEMBER 03, 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: afghanistantimes@gmail.com

ETTER TO THE EDITOR

By Suhrob Ahmad

When it comes to Pakistan,Afghanistan has got it wrong fromthe very beginning. In 1947 whenIndia finally won independence, itcame at a price of creation and rec-ognition of the state of Pakistan.The Afghan government by then amature state with almost three de-cades of sovereign rule made anerror that haunts it to this day.While the walls of United Nationswere still being built, the Afghanambassador stood firm inside thisnascent liberal institution and ve-hemently dissented the recognitionof state of Pakistan. Certainly, theAfghan government had legitimatereasons to not accept the absurdi-ty of the Durand line, a very mucha hallmark of the British Empire’sheinous footprint. But to choosean undemocratic institution to ap-peal to the goodwill of the so called“international community” was amisjudgement of liberals on thepedestal of United Nations andmore significantly the importanceof Pakistan to them.

What other options was avail-able to Afghanistan in those daysto exercise its rights against Paki-stan? A Punjabi dominated statewith a significant diverse ethnicmajority was prone to internalvulnerability. Surely, Afghanistancould use its internal unity, rela-tively strong state apparatus todestabilize Pakistan. With a hos-tile India in the South, disenchant-ed Bengal in the east, and Pathan,Baloch minorities eager to secede,it would have been difficult forPakistan to survive as a state ifAfghanistan pursued a destructivepolicy.

Of course, Afghanistan chosenot to do so. Even in the first threewars that Pakistan fought withIndia, Afghanistan chose to nottake advantage of Pakistan’s vul-nerability. A fact that seems to beunappreciated by the Punjabi Es-tablishment these days as they pullstrings in Afghanistan. But poweris not derived from the memorylane or based on principles of goodfaith. Pakistan was born to strug-gle to survive and this constantstruggle has transformed it to notonly overcome existential threatsbut to become a poignant regionalplayer.

There was also a more prag-matic option with long term goalfor Afghanistan in those early daysof 1947. The idea of embracingPakistan at the very outset as anewly formed brotherly nation. Tobuild a relationship of commonal-ity to deter the soviet ambitionsfrom the north with closer ties tothe so called “free world” that hadbecome a close ally to Pakistan. Inother words, Afghanistan shouldhave had its own ‘strategic depth’policy as the British Viceroy, theIndian Congress and the MuslimLeague were discussing the forma-tion of Pakistan. Subsequently, asthe relationship between the twoMuslim nations became more en-trenched, Afghanistan could haveused its more politically maturesystem to influence the PunjabiEstablishment. To serve as a me-diator and arbitrator that minorityin Pakistan could turn to have theirvoices heard in the Punjabi Estab-lishment.

An active policy of soft pow-er exercise would have been themore politically viable option forthe Afghan government to take inthe days and months of 1947. In-stead Afghanistan chose the op-tion of empty protest and passivepolitics. In hindsight, perhaps it iseasy to point to the chronic poli-cy failure in approaching Pakistan.But has Afghanistan learned fromits history?

It is now almost 70 years laterand Afghanistan is still perennial-ly incapable to deal with Pakistan.From government officials, politi-cal pundits, military analysts andpseudo-intellectual sensational-

ists, all cry wolf to Pakistan formisery at home. Yes, there is noquestion that Islamabad has influ-enced Afghanistan to detrimentaleffects. But two fundamentalpoints are important to remember.First, let’s not kid ourselves. Thewrath of Pakistani terror did notbegin with Taliban in 1994. It start-ed as early as 1980 with the firstbatch of insurgents working to-wards the Punjabi slogan that‘Kabul must burn’.

Secondly, Islamabad is not ex-clusively responsible for the cur-rent situation of Afghanistan.Moscow, Washington, Tehran,New Delhi and the rest of the “co-alition of the willing” have all tothe best of their capacity contrib-uted to the destruction of Afghan-istan in the last three decades.Most saliently in the last 13 years,Afghanistan became home to in-ternational military exercise andintelligence war coated under thefacade of  War on Terror,Democracy and Development. It isIslamabad however that has beenthe most successful in Afghan pol-itics and as much as we might de-test, it is Pakistan that holds thekey to peaceful future to Afghani-stan.

So is the ‘naming and sham-ing’ approach that continues topersist to this day by anyone witha platform to speak on Afghan af-fairs the right front to Islamabad?How is the current approach dif-ferent from the days of 1947?Amidst the treachery and terrorthat is escalating, it is necessary todissect the futile current trend ofpointing finger at Pakistan so thatwe develop a right strategy to ob-tain peace. The first step is to ac-knowledge that Pakistan will notchange its Afghan policy anytimesoon. Islamabad is adamant to seeits Afghan policy to its end andbelow five reasons will manifestits enduring success. 

Alas We Are Weak:Historians have bestowed

upon Afghanistan the label“the graveyard of empires”. A co-lonial imagery that we nonethelesshave proudly embraced as a signi-fying identity. After all, the lastthree global empires, British, So-viet and US have all tasted defeaton this land. But at what cost?Today, Afghanistan has literallybecome a graveyard. In the lastthree and half decades, over twomillion Afghans have been marty-red. The rest of the nation not solucky have either been maimed,widowed, orphaned displaced orall of the above and left with theagony to endure this protractedwar.

So how can we in such a feeblecondition stand up to the atroci-ties of Islamabad? We must firstquestion how we came to such acritical condition and who is re-sponsible for our current state? Weshould not blame Pakistan, becausethe Punjabi Establishment neverclaimed to be friends of Afghani-stan. Islamabad considers Afghan-istan as a neighbour state in themost realist sense of the term. It isthe supposed friends of Afghani-stan in the last four decades thathave brought up this condition.First the Soviet Union and thenthe United States.

More significantly, it has beenthe United States and its allies thatare the main culprit of our currentcondition. It is high time we ac-knowledge that with friends likethe United States, we have no needfor an enemy like Pakistan. Thefact that we are so vulnerable toPakistan today is the only tangi-ble result of the last 14 years ofUS/NATO military presence inAfghanistan. The fact that we can-not today even define our nationalinterest is thanks to the hundredsof foreign expats roaming aroundin advisory role as “experts” athigh ministries in Kabul and livingup the ’American dream’at ourexpense.

This is 2015 Afghanistan. Aninsurgency terrorizing at unprece-dented level with the highest civil-ian casualties on record. A sham-bolic political unity that seems toonly add salt to the nations wound.A deflated economy as a conse-quence of withdrawal of the West-ern presence. A good riddancemust say, from its military-indus-trial-complex to itsaccompanying  ’parachutedcircus’ known as the humanitari-an sector. A society that is plaguedwith utter hopelessness, from itsfragile elderly to its destituteyouth.

Pakistan is a regional pow-er:

While stark economic distress,social upheaval and political in-competence epitomizes the currentAfghanistan, in contrast, relativeeconomic growth, social cohesionand a compelling political systemdefines Pakistan. The strength ofIslamabad was apparent from thevery beginning. The power lies inPakistan’s military which has beenthe cornerstone of Punjabi Estab-lishment, an inheritance of the Brit-ish Empire. While Pakistan’s po-litical history has been turbulentsince its inception, the highly so-phisticated military apparatus hasmanaged to keep Pakistan’s statefrom collapsing on numerous oc-casions.

Pakistan’s military being aPunjabi dominated elitist institu-tion has always placed the nation-al interest of Pakistan above pitypolitics. Today, Pakistan’s secularand Islamic parties, its bureaucra-cy, justice system, intelligence andcivilian government are all in tan-dem when it comes to Pakistan’snational interest. This is no easyachievement and the credit is dueto the Pakistan’s military. TodayPakistan is on track to become thethird biggest nuclear power statewith one of the strongest militar-ies in Asia and identified as a mem-ber of the next eleven (N-11) larg-est economies of this century.Therefore, Afghanistan is facing astrong united political system inPakistan that will not sway fromits withering ambitions. It is notenough to point to Pakistani agen-das in Afghanistan. We must firstacknowledge the strength behindit.

Afghanistan will always besecondary to Pakistan:

The very few instances whenAfghanistan sets its grievance withPakistan internationally, it isframed in a rather self-centric ap-proach. The demand is for the “in-ternational community” to sup-port us and punish them. There isa general misconception to vilifyPakistan to appeal to the betterjudgement of the world. If only the“international community” knewthe true nature of Pakistan, so goesthe argument.

Such thinking places the socalled “international community”in a benign moral pedestal that mustsave us from the atrocities of Pa-kistan. Such rational indeed suf-fers from  Western-Saviour complex. The reality isthat the world knows Pakistanvery well. Nonetheless, it wouldtake Pakistan side over us withouta second of hesitation. More per-tinently to the dismay of the manyAfghan liberals, the so called “in-ternational community” has beenintricately linked to what Pakistanhas done to Afghanistan. It is hightime we acknowledge that Pakistanis more important than Afghani-stan to the region and the world.

While Afghanistan exercisedquiet diplomacy and neutrality asa non-aligned member in the cru-cial era of 1950s-60s-70s, Pakistanwas becoming an ever closer part-ner to the United States as

USSR rebuffed the capitalistMuslim League dominating West-Pakistan. In this crucial period, thePakistan’s military was activelyinvolved in suppressing democra-

cy internally and engaging India inthree bloody wars. In other words,the Punjabi Establishment wasmaking a statement as a regionalpower and Uncle Sam was in-trigued.

United States extended invita-tion to Prime Minister Liaqat AliKhan in as early as 1950 and im-mediately after the visit of the PMdefense ties between the two coun-tries were rapidly strengthened.The defense treaty signed in 1954allowed hundreds of Pakistani mil-itary personnel to train in the Unit-ed States. In Rawalpindi, a mili-tary assistance advisory group(MAAG) was established by U.Sand in 1956 Pakistan granted theUnited States to lease the Pesha-war air station to be used in intel-ligence gathering against the Sovi-et Union.

To appreciate the magnitudeof Pakistan’s close relationship tothe United States, Kissinger usedPakistan’s good relation with thePeople’s Republic of China to ini-tiate secret contact and normalizerelation with China which result-ed in the 1972 Nixon visit. Suchwas the trust placed in Pakistan,equivalent to the role last yearCanada played in normalizing re-lation between the United Statesand Cuba.

Even in Pakistan’s 1971 warwith India, which the United Statesofficially condemned, Iran, Turkeyand Jordan were sending militarysupplies to Pakistan at the behestof the United States. When by theend of the war, Pakistan’s defeatwas becoming imminent, the Unit-ed States sent USS enterprise andtaskforce-74 into the Indian Oceanto warn India and Soviet Unionagainst escalating attacks insidePakistan. A dismemberment ofEast Pakistan and creation of stateof Bangladesh resulting in loss ofhalf of Pakistan’s navy, and a quar-ter of its army which could havebeen much worse if not for theUnited States steadfast warning toIndia-Soviet Union to retreat.  

It was the Soviet invasion ofAfghanistan in December 24 1979that truly solidified the UnitedStates relation with Pakistan. Assoon as the Soviets 40th armycrossed into Afghanistan, the Unit-ed States created the Rapid De-ployment Force (RDF); a collec-tive security framework in the re-gion and full commitment to thedefense of Pakistan with militaryand economic aid. Assistance toPakistan in support of the waragainst the soviets in Afghanistanbecame the largest covert opera-tion in the history of the UnitedStates. In the next decade, Paki-stan and the United States relationwere promoted to the highest lev-el. Operation Cyclone was a hugesuccess and by mid 1980s, SovietUnion began negotiating with-drawal from Afghanistan. 

As the Soviet Union began tofall apart, so came the realizationin the United States for a new allyin Asia. China was the next emerg-ing power and only with an Indianalliance, could the United Stateshalt China’s economic growth.Hence, relations with India werestrengthened while Pakistan wasslapped with sanctions for its nu-clear power developments. De-spite Benazir Bhutto and NawazSheriff numerous attempts to liftthe military and economic embar-gos set under the Pressler Amend-ment, the United States would notbudge. Pakistan perceived India asa nuclear state to be an existentialthreat. It had to pursue the devel-opment of nuclear bomb. In 1998,Pakistan successfully conductednuclear test in response to Indiannuclear test and became the firstMuslim country with nuclearbomb. In light of Western embargoand severe economic distress, thisachievement was by no means aneasy feat. The credit is due to thePakistani perseverance and its mil-itary establishment.

With the turn of the century, anew chapter of Pakistan and USrelation began in the aftermath ofSeptember 11 2001. It was rathera reluctant alliance based on utterpragmatism. Pakistan had not for-gotten the US betrayal of the 1990safter Pakistan played such a piv-otal role in Soviet defeat in Afghan-istan. Knowing that Pakistan haspivoted towards China, UnitedStates was nevertheless in desper-ate need for its logistical supplyroute to Afghanistan. In a timewhen the world was sympatheticto attack on the United States andthe invasion of Afghanistan wasinevitable, Pakistan could not pos-sibly turn rogue and continue offi-cially supporting Taliban. The lift-ing of sanctions and economic as-sistance was another significantincentive for Pakistan to supportthe US invasion of Afghanistan.Therefore, it was very much aneeds-based short term transac-tional relationship.

Despite the knowledge thatmany of the Taliban and al-Qaedaleadership were given sanctuariesin Pakistan territory, United Statesproclaimed Pakistan a major non-NATO ally with a lucrative eco-nomic package for its role inthe War on Terror. Since 2001,United States has given over $30billion to Pakistan under securitypretence, and the dubious “coali-tion support fund” program. Thislargesse was not given to Pakistanin good will but reluctantly pro-vided to a regional power whoseminimalist cooperation was none-theless essential to remaining inAfghanistan. In as late as April2015, United States military-in-dustrial-complex approved sale of$952 million dollar weaponry con-sisting of helicopters, missiles andcommunication equipment underthe façade that arming Pakistan willcontribute to the foreign policy andnational security of the UnitedStates.

States comprising the anarchicinternational arena operate on ba-sis of interest and power. Paki-stan’s power at regional level issignificant and the Afghan statewould pale in comparison. As such,a rational state would value alli-ance with Pakistan over Afghani-stan without any hesitation. Chi-na, Russia, Iran, central and SouthAsians are continuously strength-ening their relation with Pakistan.Even India would value a close re-lation with Pakistan over Afghan-istan. The United States knew thatby siding with India in the 1990s,it had lost a significant ally. To-day, if Pakistan were to distanceitself from China and re-join theWestern alliance, the United Stateswould serve Afghanistan in a plateto Pakistan. Afghan liberals in Kab-ul are completely oblivious to thisdamning point.

Total war is out of question:It has been abundantly clear

for sometimes now that Pakistanis playing a fatal role in Afghani-stan. From sabotaging Afghan econ-omy, to influencing Afghan politi-cians. From border skirmishes, in-surgency support, to outright ter-rorists acts taking place in Afghan-istan. We have all known it, buthave not been able to show con-crete proof, particularly in the lat-ter case. The administration ofHamid Karzai was successful inconstant and consistent emptyprotest. A chronic outcry that hadbecome very stale. It is pointlessto discuss what could the previ-ous regime have done about Paki-stan. The begging question is whatcan be done about the undeclaredtotal war that Pakistan pursuestoday?

While President Ashraf Ghaniis right that Afghanistan is at a crit-ical condition, the idea of fist toforce is more of a political state-ment. Let’s be very clear on this:covert operations, insurgency andterrorism have been the modusoperandi of Pakistan. Since itsvery creation, the Punjabi Estab-lishment has used it first with In-dia over Kashmir and then in Af-ghanistan over the region. Pakistanhas almost seventy years of expe-rience in total war, largely thanksto training by the United States.Although briefly under the latepresident Najibullah, Afghan intel-ligence service attempted to recip-rocate Pakistan’s covert operation,it paled in comparison. This iswhen afghan intelligence was be-ing heavily equipped and trainedby the infamous KGB.

We should not respond Islam-abad atrocity in kind for two fun-damental reasons; because it iswrong and we will ultimately lose.It is absolutely staggering how cer-tain politicians can appear on na-tional television and claim thatAfghanistan should carry terroristactivities inside Pakistan. We werenever a terrorist sponsored stateand should never pretend to seesalvation in such approach. It ismorally wrong to do to innocentpopulation in Pakistan what isbeing done to innocent Afghans.We will endure this wretched con-dition, we will persevere, and his-tory will remember the terror in-flicted on our innocent people.

If Pakistan invaded Afghani-stan in conventional terms, it wouldmost definitely face defeat. Even amillion strong Pakistan armywould face the same fate of its pre-decessors that have tried to occu-py Afghanistan. As impeccable asPakistan military apparatus is, itwill be no match to Afghan resil-ience. This is precisely why Paki-stan exerts its power over Afghan-istan by propping up insurgency.We are a fragmented nation, andPakistan has 40 years’ experience

in exploiting our weaknesses. Longgone are the days, when the Kabulregime had credibility in the eyesof the Pathans and Balochs in theirstruggle against the Punjabi Estab-lishment. They have rightly cho-sen to take their struggle alone aswe cannot be depended. It is there-fore safe to presume that we are atgrave loss when it comes to con-fronting Pakistan by any means.

Pakistan is too big to fail:Just like the corporate tycoons

of Wall Street that brought the fi-nancial crisis in 2008 without ma-jor repercussion, for the sole rea-son of being too big to fail. So doestoday, Pakistan wreak havoc inAfghanistan fully knowing it can-not be touched. Yes, there will beAfghan outrage, occasional inter-national condemnation, but the factremains that nobody can do any-thing to Pakistan. One reason be-ing, that the repercussion of a failedstate in Pakistan would be cata-strophic to the region and theworld. If a nuclear power statecollapses in volatile region such asAsia, the crisis it would producewould be unimaginable. Nobodywants this. Minorities in Pakistanwould suffer if a radical DAESHinspired group emerge. CertainlyAfghanistan and India would be asmuch victims of the power vacu-um. It would not only halt rise ofChina but effectively challengeAsia’s growth. The effect of Paki-stan turning into a Somalia wouldbe unfathomable. Instability inPakistan will entail security threatto all its neighbours and emboldentransnational insurgency. Pakistanknows this bitter truth and theworld have learned to live with thestate of Pakistan.

Solution: Afghanistan mustlocate itself in Asia

This year president Xi Jinpingon his first visit to Pakistan statedthat “it feels as if i am going tovisit the home of my own broth-er”. This fraternal affection is root-ed in the historical relation be-tween the two neighbourly states.The visit did not disappoint asChinese president announced a $46billion investment in Pakistan. Anew era and a new alliance emergedin the region. Pakistan and Chinaentrenched a relation for decadesto come. While the close alliancewith the United States definedPakistan in the latter half of the20th century, it will be the alliancewith China that will define Paki-stan in this century. Historically ithas been Afghanistan at the cross-road of Asia, but it is Pakistan thatcements the road to China’s eco-nomic rise. The construction ofChina Pakistan Economic Corridor(CPEC) attests to an enduring longterm relation between the twostates. This alliance will bring Pa-kistan security and prosperitywhile making China a two oceanpower.

Afghanistan is poetically imag-ined as the heart of Asia. How cana heart bleed for decades while thebody prospers? Such has been thedemise of Afghanistan in the lastthree decades with simultaneousgrowth of Asia. A heart, a liver or akidney, regardless of the analogy,the undying truth is that Afghani-stan is a key part of Asia. This isan Asian century and Afghanistanmust find a place for itself in Asia.The future of Afghanistan cannotbe decided in Washington, Genevaor even Qatar. It also does not meanthat Islamabad, Beijing or Tehranshould become the focal point fora peaceful future for Afghanistan. 

Afghanistan must take own-ership of its future by once againsituating Kabul in Asia. It mustroot out Western dependency andintegrate into an Asian hemisphere.By 2050, China and India will be-come the top two world econo-mies. Iran and Pakistan arethe next-11 global power and notfar behind the BRICS countries interms of economic growth. The lastthirteen years of war in Afghani-stan has been Western imposed butAsian sanctioned. All the keyneighbours were present in theBonn Conference and influencedthe outcome to their benefit.Hence, they are not immune fromthe responsibility of working for apeaceful future for Afghanistan.

Today it is clearly visible thatAfghanistan has reached the nadirof its destruction. The Asiangrowth cannot continue unscathedif this condition persists in Afghan-istan. It seems the neighbours havelargely recognized that the war canno longer be contained within thelives of Afghans. The Asian growthis not fully guaranteed as the re-cent stock market turmoil in Chi-na revealed. A peaceful and pros-perous Afghanistan is an essentialrecipe to Asian growth. Kabulmust certainly do its part. It seemsPresident Ashraf Ghani has real-ized this by making his first offi-cial visit to Beijing, not Washing-ton.  The narrative of the Afghanpresident is largely framed in anAsian future. Negotiating peacewith Taliban with thorough Paki-stani engagement was a smartchoice and still remains the onlyviable option. The problem is thatthe government in Kabul is a di-rect product of the last 14 years ofWestern domination. The regimemust win the trust of its neigh-bour states. A good start will beabandoning the western liberal ide-ology that still clouds the capitaland excusing the hundreds of West-ern expats serving as Afghanexperts in advisory roles.

View expressed in this articleare of the author’s own and donot necessarily reflect Pajhwok’seditorial policy

In the early 18th century, Rus-sia sent a number of large expe-ditions to explore and map theSiberian coastline. These mis-sions were not cheap - fundingthese expeditions cost Moscowone-sixth of its state budget in1724. The explorers, scientists,and adventurers who partook inthe Kamchatka expeditions,known as the Great Northern Ex-peditions, numbered in the thou-sands. Even by today's stan-dards, this was probably the larg-est scientific expedition in his-tory. Some things never change.Almost 300 years later, Russiais still staking new claims in theArctic. In 2007, Artur Chilinga-rov, a member of the RussianDuma, led a submarine expedi-tion to the North Pole and plant-ed a Russian flag on the seabed.Later he said: "The Arctic is Rus-sian. We must prove the NorthPole is an extension of the Rus-sian landmass." Fault Lines - TheBattle for the Arctic A few weeksago, Russia submitted a claim tothe UN Commission on the Lim-its of the Continental Shelf(CLCF), arguing that its conti-nental shelf stretches beyond theNorth Pole. Russia's submissionin 2001 to the commission waspromptly rejected. Moscow ishoping for a change in fortune.Flag waving Russia has a desireto play an active role in the Arc-tic region for three reasons: Rus-sian President Vladimir Putin'scontinuous promotion of Rus-sian nationalism, the economicpotential of the region, and Rus-sia's security. For Putin, the Arc-tic is an area that allows Russiato flex its muscles without in-curring any significant geopolit-ical risk. Because nationalism ison the rise in Russia, Putin's Arc-tic strategy is popular among thepopulation. Also read: Armeniaas a bridge to Iran? Russia won'tlike it Putin sees himself as animperial leader out to reclaimRussia's former greatness. Rus-sian activity in the Arctic, wheth-er military, economic, or scien-tific hearkens back to images ofPeter the Great and the GreatNorthern Expedition. Becausenationalism is on the rise in Rus-sia, Putin's Arctic strategy ispopular among the population.With Russia's terrible economicsituation, declining birthrates,and international isolation overCrimea, Putin's Arctic rhetoricgoes down well with a popula-tion that has little hope for itsfuture. Energy and economicsRussia is also eager to promoteits economic interests in the re-gion. Half of the world's Arcticterritory and half of the Arcticregion's population is located inRussia. It is well-known that theArctic is home to large stockpilesof proven, yet unexploited, oiland gas reserves. The majorityof these reserves is thought tobe located in Russia. Russia isinvesting greatly in the region.Around $3.3bn will be investedin the Arctic on oil and gas andmajor infrastructure projectsover the next five years. This isa huge sum that is more than thetotal gross domestic product ofMauritania. Even with decliningoil and gas revenue, the Russianstate budget will pick up the tabfor 70 percent of this investment.The melting Arctic ice during thesummer months presents oppor-tunities for new shipping lanesand has caused great excitementin Moscow. In reality, the use ofthe Northern Sea Route alongRussia's northern coast shouldnot be overstated. The shippinglanes of the Northern Sea Routeare a considerable distance fromsearch and rescue facilities. Whenships use the Northern SeaRoute, they often rely on sup-port from Russia, especially inthe form of icebreakers, whichare costly. Russian PresidentVladimir Putin [AP] There is stilla long way to go before theNorthern Sea Route becomes aviable option. Ice is not meltingas fast as expected. For exam-ple, in 2013, a total of 71 shipsmade the journey around the topof Russia. In 2014, only 23 shipstook the same route. Thisamounts to less than one-quar-ter of one percent of the numberof ships that transited throughthe Suez Canal. Furthermore, itis often forgotten how large Asiais. Using the Northern Sea Routecertainly makes a trip betweenRotterdam, Netherlands, andYokohama, Japan, 30 percentshorter than using the Suez Ca-nal route. However, a journeybetween Rotterdam and Shang-hai is only 8 percent shorter.Considering all of the risks andcosts associated with using theNorthern Sea Route, it remainsto be seen if such a small differ-ence in distance is really worthit. Militarisation of the high northThankfully, the Arctic region re-mains an area of low conflict, andit is in everyone's interests tokeep it this way. Even so, Rus-sia has taken significant steps tomilitarise its part of the Arctic.New Arctic brigades have beenestablished. Russia's NorthernFleet has its headquarters in theArctic, and it is the largest fleetin the Russian .

By Luke Coffey

Russia'sArcticadventures

Nearly five million people are living in ancient and once beautiful city, Kabul. This city was designed for 0.1 million population. Vehicles andmachineries have increased Kabul in past years. Kabul residents have flooded from different provinces to the city. These people follow differentcultures and most of them are unaware about city-living culture. If you travel in the city busses and taxis, you will find that most of people arenot following city-living culture and violating its rules. Most of Kabul residents, particularly young boys and a number of women use mobilephones inside public buses, playing music in high volume and talking nonsense inside buses. This trend irritates others but no one can criticizethis due to uncertain reasons. It is the Kabul citizens’ duty to observe city-living culture and try not to become irritating source for otherresidents whether they are traveling in city buses or they travel by their own vehicles. It is the duty of all schoolteachers to advise their students

to use mobile phones in its right way and avoid disturbing others by using their cell phones. Living in a city should beconsidered as important and more important is observing city-living culture therefore lets be polite and behave like a moderncity citizen in Kabul.

Hamid Kamalzada, Khairkhana, Kabul

Kabul city, its residents

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THURSDAY . SEPTEMBER 03, 2015

AFGHANISTANTIMES

After much hesitation to get in-volved in the fight against the Is-lamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS)over concerns of blowback, Tur-key on Friday carried out its firstairstrikes against ISIS as part ofthe U.S.-led coalition.

“Countering terrorist organi-zations is a national security issueof priority for Turkey. Our effortsto combat terrorism will continueresolutely,” the Foreign Ministrysaid, adding that the participationof the Air Force was based on atechnical document signed be-tween Ankara and Washington onAug. 24. The U.S. Embassy in An-kara tweeted: “Turkish participa-tion in Coalition airstrikes strength-ens our capacity to degrade anddefeat our common enemy.” Lastmonth, Turkey agreed to open itsair bases to the coalition, enablingAmerican F-16 jets to launch raidsfrom the southern base of Incirliknear the border with Syria. On 24July, Turkish warplanes attackedISIS in Syria after a suicide bomb-ing by in the Turkish town of Su-ruc that killed 33 people, and anattack on Turkish troops guardingthe border with Syria that killedone soldier. However, that wasconducted unilaterally, not as partof the U.S.-led coalition. The ad-vance of ISIS toward the northernSyria city of Aleppo concernsTurkey, which is willing to estab-lish a safe zone for Syrian refugeeswith the help of U.S.-led airstrikes

by clearing it of ISIS. Nihat AliOzcan, a retired major now serv-ing as a security analyst at Anka-ra-based think-tank TEPAV, saidTurkey’s deeper involvement in

the coalition was significant.“The participation of a Mus-

lim country bordering Syria is ofutmost psychological importance

to increase the legitimacy of thecampaign. It will also increase themilitary capacity to a great extent,”Ozcan told Al Arabiya News.

Experts say Turkey thereby

strengthens its trans-Atlantic tiesand deflects criticism for not en-gaging enough in anti-ISIS efforts.

Ozcan said ongoing develop-

ments in Syria and the wider re-gion bring a wide range of challengesfor Turkey, including some 2 mil-lion refugees.

However, “Turkey’s active

involvement in these air operationsincreases the probability of ISISconducting terrorist attacks onTurkish soil by using dozens of

sleeper cells,” he added.Experts say Turkish involve-

ment in Syria will have major re-percussions for Kurdish positions.

Ozcan said the Democratic

Union Party (PYD), considered apolitical offshoot in Syria of theoutlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Par-ty (PKK), would see its power

decreased.“However, we should also

note that the international coali-tion will prevent Turkey from tar-geting the PYD,” Ozcan said, im-

plying that Turkey’s airstrikeswould be required to focus onlyon ISIS for now.

Serhat Guvenc, professor of

international relations at Kadir HasUniversity in Istanbul, said thetheater of operations would be rel-atively narrow.

“Therefore, it may not be soeasy to confine Turkish involve-ment to an even more confinedarea,” Guvenc told Al ArabiyaNews. “Politically, the impressionis that it was very difficult to dealwith Turkey. At this point, intro-ducing additional caveats may nothelp Turkey improve its image asa reluctant and difficult partner,”he added. The details of the geo-graphical scope of Turkey’s air-strikes are not disclosed yet. How-ever, Guvenc said if the coalitionpartners agree on tasking based ongeographical considerations likeproximity, then Turkey may findit easier to limit its involvementrather than going deeper towardsISIS targets into Syria. “U.S.-ledcoalition has assembled assets suf-ficient to cover the area of opera-tions. The key factor is having ac-cess to Incirlik, which is now se-cure. Unless going deep will be re-garded as a firm political commit-ment, there is no operational needfor Turkish aircraft fly deep intoSyria,” he said. Following its in-creased engagement against ISIS,and as the third most frequentlyinvolved NATO ally in U.S.-ledoperations after Britain and France,Turkey will likely maintain its sta-tus as a key partner for the Amer-icans, Guvenc added.

Is Iran be h in d Iraq an dLe ban o n ’s ‘Aw ake n in g?’

In the Middle East this week, afiery force has awoken from hi-bernation, coupling together Iraqand Lebanon in an unlikely sce-nario. Both countries have been thescene of angry rallies calling forlasting fixes to their socio-econom-ic woes. In Lebanon, it’s the#YouStink trash crisis that hascommandeered the headlines,while an electricity crisis and gov-ernment reform package an-nounced by Prime Minister Haid-ar al-Abadi have hung heavy overIraq. Perhaps reminiscent of theArab Spring to some, the phenom-enon in both countries has alsobeen described as “almost identi-cal” by others.

“In both Iraq and Lebanon...civil society is weak, security islacking, social conditions are harsh,and the economy is on the retreat,”Lebanese analyst Ghassan al-Ay-yash wrote in al-Safir newspaperthis week. “They are complainingof corruption, sectarianism, thedistribution of state wealth andposts, the mismanagement of stateinstitutions, the squandering ofnational wealth, and the lack of ac-countability,” he added. But whilethe protests ricochet off each oth-er, one root cause also bares someparallels. Iranian intervention inboth Iraq and Lebanon’s politicalbackdrops has been widely notedby analysts and Arab officials inrecent years. Lebanese anti-gov-ernment protesters in downtownBeirut on August 29. (AP) Riotpolicemen stand in front of pro-testers during a demonstration inBaghdad. (Reuters) Iranian hege-mony in Iraq In Iraq, former PrimeMinister Nouri al-Maliki has beenat the crux of the demonstrators’anger. Sunni protesters hold up adefaced portrait of Iraqi PrimeMinister Nouri al-Maliki describ-ing him as ‘a hypocrite and a liar’at a rally in Ramadi. (File photo:AFP) During his rule, many be-lieve Iranian hegemony prevailedover the government and Malikihas now earned a reputation formarginalizing Sunnis in the coun-try, consolidating power and alleg-edly spending $1 trillion in Iraqipublic funds amid the collapse ofelectricity supplies to the decay-ing country. “$800 billion camefrom Iraq’s oil budget since 2004till 2014, while $200 billion came

from donations and aid,” Iraqi Dep-uty Prime Minister for Energy Af-fairs, Bahaa al-Aaraji said in Au-gust. An Iraqi boy living in Iranholds a toy gun and flashes a vic-tory sign in front of a poster of theIranian Supreme leader AyatollahAli Khamenei. (AP) Read also:Iraqi official says Maliki’s govern-ment wasted $1 trillion of Iraqifunds Read also: What’s next forIraq and its key players aftersweeping reforms? Although topShiite cleric Ayatollah Ali al-Sis-tani has voiced support for con-tinuing protests, Iraqis of all sectsare mobilizing against social andeconomic concerns. For the Iraqipeople, sectarian rifts seeminglyhave no place in a protest demand-ing the basic right to electricityduring a scorching heatwave. “Peo-ple are now becoming aware thatnon-sectarian rights are necessaryand need to be developed,” Mid-dle East political scientist JosephA. Kéchichian told Arabiya News.But this does not necessarily indi-cate that religious influence is onthe wane, warns Kéchichian.“Rather, that people are demand-ing accountability, and may haveconcluded that religious authoritieswho perpetuate sectarianism forselfish reasons--need to let go. Weare not there yet but we’re gettingthere.” But even if the demands ofthe non-sectarian protests gainmore momentum, can Iranian in-tervention in the country post-Maliki - seen in the presence ofarmed Shiite militia Asaib Ahl al-Haq at the rallies - ever be curbed?In a Washington Post report in earlyAugust, reporters Mustafa Salimand Liz Sly noted “notable differ-ences” in the demands of demon-strations that included Asaib Ahlal-Haq backers. “Supporters ofQais al-Khazali, who heads thepowerful Iranian-backed AsaibAhl al-Haq militia, echoed his de-mand for the abolition of Iraq’selected parliament and its replace-ment with a presidential system,”Salim and Sly wrote. An Iraqifighter of the Shiite militia AsaibAhl al-Haq (The League of theRighteous) stands guard outsidethe militia's headquarters in Basra,on May 18, 2015 (AFP) Will Ira-nian interference hang heavy overthe protests in the coming weeks?“Hopefully protesters will not al-

low themselves to be used that way… It’s too early to tell,” Ali Khed-ery, a former U.S. advisor to astring of American ambassadors inIraq, told Al Arabiya News. “Whathas been relatively good news isthat Islamist parties, the Iranianproxies, have failed in their gover-nance and are hopefully now mak-ing way for a secular governmentwhich can hopefully be more com-petent,” he added. An ‘Awaken-ing’ that is ‘better late than never’Either way, Khedery believes thedemonstrations are long overdue.

“I had hoped to see protestsagainst sectarianism and poor gov-ernance long ago, but as they say,better late than never. “They usedto call the Anbar tribal movementagainst al-Qaeda ’al-Sahwa,’ or the’Awakening,’ and I think you’reseeing another ‘Awakening,’ butthis time among the broader soci-ety. This is fragile, but very pre-cious at the same time and I hopeit takes off,” Khedery added. Leb-anon’s fault lines But pan over toLebanon, and it’s a similar storyof Iranian incursions. In June, BBCcorrespondent in Beirut KevinConnolly described Lebanon asbeing “pivotal to Iran’s reach acrossMiddle East.” Since the Israel’swithdrawal from Lebanon in 2000,Iranian-backed Shiite movementHezbollah has been positioning it-self as a cornerstone of the coun-try’s political scene, while para-doxically undermining efforts bythe elected government to rule.This has been one of the main tus-sles that have long paralyzed thegovernment. A Lebanese boy in asouthern town grips a Hezbollahflag as he runs past the portraitsof Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatol-lah Ali Khamenei, left, the IslamicRepublic's late founder AyatollahRuhollah Khomeini, and Hezbol-lah militia Hassan Nasrallah, right.(File photo: AP) The trash crisishas amplified this, aggravating “ex-isting fault lines” which have pit-ted Hezbollah against the coun-try’s Western-aligned camps. Readalso: Lebanon in crisis as Hezbol-lah enters trash fray Read also: As#YouStink gains momentum, Leb-anese doubtful over change As inIraq, Lebanon’s protests show thatregardless of sect and political af-filiation, there is a collective an-guish on display, turning the page

on sectarian splits for the peopleon the street. A Lebanese activistholds a poster with pictures ofLebanese Cabinet ministers duringa protest against the ongoing trashcrisis. (AP) Still, Iranian-backedactors still pose underlying risksin Lebanon – also much like Iraq.Last week, Hezbollah ministers andtheir allies walked out of a Cabinetmeeting meant to discuss the wors-ening garbage crisis and boycottedthe meeting that followed. Theywere joined by politicians who areallied against Prime Minister Tam-mam Salam. Lebanon's Prime Min-ister Tammam Salam heads a cabi-net meeting at the government pal-ace in Beirut boycotted byHezbollah and allied Christian pol-iticians. (Reuters) For Kéchichian,Hezbollah’s political clout has notclouded their militant side. Group-ing them with Asaib Ahl al-Haq inIraq, Kéchichian describes bothmovements as “pro-Iranian Shiitemilitias” under “Tehran’s directcontrol.” But the analyst believestheir record remains poor. “Mili-tias can spread havoc, can kill andmaim, and otherwise make a nui-sance of themselves. In both coun-tries, ordinary citizens are reject-ing extremist groups, and bothAsaib Ahl al-Haq and Hezbollahare such organizations.” On itspart, Iran has recently voiced wish-es to turn over a new leaf with theArab world, and has denied claimsof any meddling in the region’s in-ternal affairs, particularly those ofLebanon. At a news conference inKuwait in July, Iranian ForeignMinister Mohammad Javad Zarifcalled on Arab countries to joinforces with Tehran to fight againstextremism and militancy in theMiddle East, saying: “Any threatto one country is a threat to all...No country can solve regionalproblems without the help of oth-ers.” ‘Unsuccessful adventurism’Following Tehran’s landmark dealwith Western powers, intending tocurb its nuclear ambitions, it is stillunclear whether Iran will shift itsfocus to the international commu-nity on new political and econom-ic fronts. U.S. President BarackObama’s domestic opponents, aswell as Israeli and Gulf officials,fear the deal may lead to more un-shackled, sanction-free interven-tion in the region. Most recently,in an op-ed by former U.S. VicePresident Dick Cheney publishedin the Wall Street Journal, he wrotethat the deal will likely lead to firstnuclear weapon use since WWII.Meanwhile, U.S. and Europeanpowers express their “hope” forIran to change tact and shift focusto new trade and energy opportu-nities, such as Italy recently an-nouncing it would fund projects inIran worth 3 billion euros ($3.3billion). Read also: OPINION - Eu-rope’s unseemly haste to embraceTehran Theoretically, in the eventof Tehran’s pivot away from theregion, the likes of Maliki, AsaibAhl al-Haq and Hezbollah “willcollapse” without Iranian backing,says Kéchichian. But has Iranianhegemony already become too farembedded through the countries’political, sectarian and militantveins?

“The real debate today is inTehran,” says Kéchichian. “Is Iranready to become a normal countryonce again or will it persist in itsunsuccessful adventurism?”

In Le ban o n an d Iraq, pro te s ts have ro cke d fragile go ve rn m e n tsdivide d by s e ctarian s trife , de adlo ck an d co rruptio n . (AP/ Re ute rs )

Fle e in g Is lam ic Statekillin gs in Syria, afam ily re ache s Bavaria

VIENNA: "Is this really our train?Is this the train to Germany?!"Maha screams with delight.

It is Monday evening in Vien-na's central train station and the25-year-old Arabic teacher, carry-ing her one-year-old son in herarms, can't quite believe that herfamily's harrowing journey fromSyria may soon be over.

Maha and her husband Khalildecided to attempt the treacher-ous trek to Europe with two smallchildren back in June, when self-styled Islamic State (IS) fightersentered their hometown of Kobaniand began butchering people withknives.

In the span of a few hours,Khalil says, dozens of bodies werelittering the streets and the familyhouse had been ransacked. It wastime to go, regardless of the risks.

"I used to have pictures of deadchildren from that massacre on myphone but I deleted them. Icouldn't look at them any more,"he says. Now Khalil, a tall, hand-some English teacher, Maha, 3-year-old Helan and baby Nour, arehuddled on the platform in Vien-na. Their story illustrates the highhopes and crushing, often life-threatening, lows refugees face intheir desperate attempts to reachEurope.

The family are among hun-dreds of migrants who were al-lowed onto trains in Budapest onMonday to cross into Austria, andthen Germany.

Khalil and Maha's goal is tomake it to Hamburg in northernGermany, and then maybe on toDenmark, where Khalil's sisterlives.

They spoke at length abouttheir journey from Syria to theheart of Europe with a Reuters re-porter who accompanied themfrom Vienna to Passau in southernGermany.

Exhausted, scared and under-nourished, their tale mirrors thoseof thousands of refugees from Syr-ia, Iraq, Afghanistan and otherwar-torn countries who have left

their homes with little more thanthe clothes on their back in thehope of finding a better life.

But until they reach their finaldestination, knowing next to noth-ing of their official status in Eu-rope, they can't shake the fear thatsomething could go horribly wrong— as it has for thousands who havedied trying to cross the Mediter-ranean or at the hands of ruthlesspeople traffickers.

Nearly drowned as Khalil andMaha tell it, they crossed intoTurkey 25 days ago, a numberMaha keeps repeating, having re-ligiously counted every night oftheir flight.

From there, they made theirway to Bodrum on Turkey's west-ern coast, roaming through thewoods until they found a smug-gler with an inflatable boat.

Maha says the boat was meantto carry four people, but the smug-gler packed the entire family andseven others on board. Several hun-dred meters off the coast, waterbegan entering the boat and thegroup almost drowned, beforeturning around and making it backto land.

From there, they travellednorth to Izmir to find a better wayacross the Aegean Sea, using mon-ey given to Khalil by his family topay the 3,600 euro fee — 1,200euros per adult and 600 per child— for transport to Mitilini on theisland of Lesbos.

After two days on Lesbos,they reached the Greek mainland.Using smugglers, they then navi-gated the woods of Macedonia andSerbia and ended up in a camp justacross the border in Hungary.

"We saw one man try to es-cape by climbing a fence," saidMaha. "They searched for himwith planes and the police beat himwhen they caught him. I saw himbleed." There are dozens of Syri-ans on the train.

One man who looks on thebrink of exhaustion fears his broth-er may be among the 71 found deadin a refrigeration truck last week

on an Austrian motorway. "It'svery difficult, very difficult," hesays.

Khalil and Maha are Kurds andproud of their heritage. A year ago,they say, they had tried to escapethe fighting in northern Syria bymoving to Erbil in the autonomousKurdistan region of Iraq. But theyfound it too expensive and wereforced to return to Kobani.

Khalil takes pride in how theKurds fought back IS militantsthere. He shows pictures on hisphone of Kurdish women fighters,proof he says that Kurds are morelike Westerners than Arabs.

"Where are we?" As the trainpulls into St Poelten station inAustria, activists are waiting on theplatform holding up banners ofsupport for the refugees. ButMaha is scared.

"Is this a protest against us?"she asks.

Two hours later, close to mid-night, the train crosses the borderinto Germany, stopping in Passau.Two German women, carryingstate-of-the-art sport bikes, enterand shriek when they see Maha,breastfeeding Nour beneath twoempty bike racks.

Gesturing wildly, they insistshe get up. They have paid to usethe bike racks and say they don'tcare where the family comes fromor how tired they are.

Minutes later, police with bul-let-proof vests enter the train,waking up the refugees with flash-lights and forcing them to disem-bark.

The glimmer of hope thatMaha felt on the platform in Vien-na hours earlier suddenly fades asthey are herded into an open han-gar area for assessing their nation-alities. The sound of crying chil-dren resonates in the night air.

Tears in his eyes, Khalil wor-ries that they will not be allowedto continue to Hamburg, and thenon to his sister.

"What's the name of thisplace?" Maha asks nervously. Shehas never heard of Passau.

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THURSDAY . SEPTEMBER 03, 2015

AFGHANISTANTIMES

JACKSON HOLE: Central bank-ers from around the world are tell-ing their American counterpartsthat they are ready for a US inter-est rate hike and would prefer thatthe Federal Reserve make the movewithout further ado.

In private and in public at lastweek’s global central banking con-ference in Jackson Hole, the mes-sage from visiting policymakerswas that the Fed has telegraphedan initial monetary tightening and,following a year-long rise in thedollar, financial markets globallyare as ready as they can be.

The powerful group gatheredat the end of a roller-coaster weekin markets in which the Dowtanked by 1,000 points on Mon-

day on concerns of a slowdown inChina but recovered to trade high-er by the end of the week. Remarksby Fed officials that liftoff couldcome in September were blamedby some for that volatility.

But for Agustin Carstens, thetop central banker in Mexico, arate hike by his neighbour sendsan encouraging sign of economichealth, even if it does force growth-challenged Mexico to also raiserates within days.

“If the Fed tightens, it will bedue to the fact that they have aperception that inflation is drift-ing up, but more important thatunemployment is falling and theeconomy is recovering,” Carstenstold Reuters in an interview.

“For us, that is very goodnews,” he added.

While Yao Yudong, head of thePeople’s Bank of China ResearchInstitute of Finance and Banking,last week blamed the Fed for themarket turmoil and said a US hikeshould be delayed, most centralbankers from emerging marketscontacted by Reuters at JacksonHole and over the past monthshared Carstens’ view.

An end to more than six yearsof rock bottom US rates will touchoff a wave of potentially painfuladjustments as countries deal withthe likelihood of an even strongerdollar as well as capital outflowsfrom some emerging markets andchanges in the relative prices of

traded goods. An end to uncertain-ty for policymakers, however,could outweigh those difficulties.

Effects of the Fed’s easy mon-ey have been felt in countries asdiverse as Chile and Switzerland.Annual inflation in Chile has con-sistently come in above the bank’starget range of 2 per cent to 4pc.

In Switzerland, the centralbank has been forced to keep ratesnegative since it removed its capon the franc at 1.20 to the euro,sending the currency soaring andputting a major strain on the ex-port-dependent Swiss economy.“Latin America has seen a surge ofinflation” as countries “internalise”the evolution of Fed policy, Cen-tral Bank of Chile Governor Rod-

rigo Vergara told the conference.TWO YEARS OF PREPARA-TION: Those sorts of trends havebeen under way for some twoyears, when then Fed chairmanBen Bernanke set off a global“taper tantrum” when he suggest-ed the central bank was preparingto scale back its bond-buying pro-gramme. Two years after the tapertantrum, Fed officials say somevolatility is unavoidable when theshift in policy occurs.

“For emerging markets, thesmaller economies, they’re oftenlooking for a weaker currency. Sofrom their perspective a tighten-ing move by the Fed might be help-ful to weaken their currency andhelp them do what they want to

do,” St. Louis Fed President JamesBullard said in an interview.

There are opponents to a hike— most notably the People’s Bankof China and the IMF, which hasurged the Fed to delay until theworld economy is on a strongerfooting. But even frequent Fed crit-ics said at Jackson Hole that thetime was coming to hike.

“It’s a long anticipated event,”Reserve Bank of India GovernorRaghuram Rajan said on a confer-ence panel, sitting alongside FedVice Chairman Stanley Fischer.

“It has to happen some time— everybody knows it has to hap-pen — but pick your time.”

Those comments were sup-ported by central bankers from

Japan, South Korea and Indone-sia. When asked earlier this monthwhether he thought the Fed shouldhike in Sept, Bank Indonesia Se-nior Deputy Governor MirzaAditya­swara told Reuters inJakarta: “The more certainty thereis, the better.”

A senior South Korean poli-cymaker echoed that sentiment.

“A lift at an already expectedtiming would be better in a sensethat it clears up one of the big un-certainties over the issue and itwould mean the US economic re-covery is deemed sustainable,” hesaid, speaking on condition of an-onymity as he was not authorisedto comment publicly by the Bankof Korea.—Reuters

Fran ce ‘in tim idate d’ byGe rm an y o n e co n o m ic po licy

PARIS: France has been intimi-dated by Germany into pursuingan economic policy that isn’tworking, Nobel prize-winningeconomist Joseph Stiglitz toldAFP in an interview on Monday.

“There is a kind of intimida-tion,” Stiglitz, an outspoken op-ponent of austerity policy, said ofthe influence of Germany over the

economic policy pursued by Presi-dent Francois Hollande. Stiglitzalso said he agreed with formerGreek finance minister YanisVaroufakis that Germany’s intran-sigence against Athens was aimedat striking fear in Paris and con-vincing the French government tocontinue austerity policies. “Thecentre-left government in France

has not been able to stand upagainst Germany” on its budgetpolicy, eurozone policy, or on theresponse to the Greek crisis, saidthe former World Bank chiefeconomist and adviser to US presi-dent Bill Clinton. Regarding theEuropean Union, he criticisedBrussels for focusing on nominaldeficits of member states rather

than those adjusted for the eco-nomic cycle, as well as the policyresponse.

“Cutting taxes and expendi-tures contracts the economy, justthe opposite to what you need,”said Stiglitz. “I do not understandwhy Europe is now trying thatafter all the evidence, all the theorysays it does not work,” he added.

He said the “totally discred-ited” policy now only has supportin Germany and a few people inFrance. Stiglitz, who is in Franceto promote the translation of hislatest book, “The Great Divide”,said the “centre-left has lost con-fidence in its progressive agenda”.He noted that former British primeminister Tony Blair, ex-Germanchancellor Gerhard Schroeder andUS President Barack Obama allsupported the “banking system,have supported deregulation, tradeagreements that are bad for ordi-nary workers”. Stiglitz saidSchroeder can be viewed as a suc-cess from the point of view of ac-complishing a so-called internaldevaluation when competitivenessis increased by reducing wagecosts, but that “you make ordi-nary workers suffer”.—AFP

Egypt gas fin d sparkspan ic in Is rae l abo utIsrae li re se rve s

Egypt’s new natural gas bonanzais causing an uproar in Israel, withenergy stocks plummeting and re-criminations over indecisivenessand infighting that have delayedproduction from the country's owngas fields. The government is cur-rently struggling to get parliamentto approve its natural gas businessplan, but observers fear Israel mayneed to reassess everything nowthat Egypt, which had been castas both an export destination anda partner, may have found its ownindependent solution. Israel’s off-shore gas reserves had long beenregarded as a future cash cow forthe resource-poor country, and gasexporters in Egypt were expectedto be the key customers of Israel’syet untapped Leviathan field. Butplans to develop Leviathan aresuddenly up in the air after Italianenergy company Eni SpA saidSunday it had found the “largest-ever” gas field in the Mediterra-nean Sea off Egypt’s shores. Thefield is located in shallower seasthan Leviathan, likely making iteasier for companies to extract, ina country with none of the regula-tory chaos of Israel. “It adds awhole new layer of uncertainty toan already very messy situation,”

said Gal Luft, an energy securityexpert and senior adviser to theUnited States Energy SecurityCouncil. “It essentially postponesany prospect for a deal.” After thenews broke, the main energy com-panies with holdings in Israel’s gasfields took a hit. Texas-based No-ble Energy’s shares tumbled 3.2percent on Monday in trading onthe New York Stock Exchange,while the Israeli Delek Group’sshares dropped 12 percent in trad-ing on Tel Aviv’s stock exchange.The oil and gas index on the TelAviv exchange plunged 13 percent,though the index appeared to sta-bilize Tuesday. Israel discoveredtwo large fields, Tamar and the larg-er Leviathan, in 2009 and 2010,raising hopes that the gas wouldreduce Israel’s dependence on for-eign sources of energy and create anew engine for the economy. Butexploiting the gas has turned outto be more complicated than an-ticipated, amid repeated disputesover pricing, export policies andhow to split profits with energycompanies developing the fields.Egypt’s massive gas discovery "isa painful wake up call for our real-ly foolish conduct," Israel’s ener-gy minister, Yuval Steinitz, told

Israeli Army Radio on Monday."For years we have been stalling thesearches, stalling development.Nothing is moving." For months,Israeli leaders raced to clinch a dealto lure developers to extract Israel’sgas. But the deal has been held up ascritics accused Prime Minister Ben-jamin Netanyahu of caving in to amonopoly at the expense of Israel’scoffers. Even Israel’s antitrust com-missioner opposed the deal. Israel’sCabinet tried to sidestep the com-missioner by claiming the gas dealwas a matter of national securitysince it involved business ties withEgypt, the first Arab country tomake peace with the Jewish stateand a key ally in the battle againstIslamic militants. But now thatEgypt has struck liquid gold, Israelileaders worry that developers willhave less incentive to develop Isra-el’s resource at all.

Opposition lawmaker ShellyYachimovich, a leading critic of Is-rael’s deal with the gas companies,said the Egyptian gas discoverywould likely introduce more com-petitive prices to the market andtherefore Israel should not rush intoa deal promising high profits to de-velopers, siphoning off funds thatcould benefit the Israeli public.

Oil e xte n dslo s se s o n w e ak glo baleco n o m ic o utlo o k

LONDON: Oil prices fell onWednesday as concerns about theglobal economy exacerbated wor-ries that an oversupply of crudecould last longer than expected.

Weak manufacturing reportsfrom China, the United States andEurope undermined global equities,while a stronger-than-expectedbuild in U.S. crude stocks andweaker U.S. manufacturing datadrove oil market sentiment down,analysts said. Wednesday's fallcompounded an 8 percent drop inBrent and U.S. crude prices onTuesday, which ended a 25 per-cent three-session surge, the larg-est three-day gain since 1990.

"A rise of around 25 percentin three consecutive days was notgoing to be sustained," BNP Parib-as oil analyst Harry Tchilinguiriansaid. "The underlying fundamen-tals are bearish." Brent crude for

October was down 75 cents at$48.81 a barrel by 0915 GMT.U.S. crude for October fell $1.00to $44.41 a barrel.

"Financial market turmoil isundermining global economicgrowth and reducing the demandfor inventory which is especiallynegative for oil prices," PIRA En-ergy Group said. Natixis analystAbhishek Deshpande said: "Chi-na in particular is bearing down oncommodities."

Oil prices retreated after datafrom industry group the AmericanPetroleum Institute on Tuesdayshowed U.S. crude stocks surgedby 7.6 million barrels to 456.9 mil-lion in the week to Aug. 28. Ana-lysts in a Reuters poll had expect-ed just a 32,000-barrel gain.

The market is expected to holdsteady until official inventory datais released by the U.S. Energy In-

formation Administration later onWednesday, analysts said.

Some traders argue the oil mar-ket may be about to see anotherbig sell-off.

Hedge fund manager PierreAndurand said he thought U.S.crude could move towards a rangeof $25-$50 a barrel over the nexttwo years.

"The market will remain over-supplied in 2016 and 2017," Andu-rand told the Financial Times. "Weneed low prices for longer to re-balance the market. There are noquick fixes.”

But other analysts say crudeprices have fallen too far, too fastand should recover gradually overthe next year.

A Reuters poll of analysts onTuesday forecast Brent would av-erage $62.30 a barrel in 2016 andU.S. crude $57 a barrel.

W all Stre e t s e t to bo un ceafte r brutal s tart to the m o n thU.S. stock index futures indicateda higher open on Wednesday, withinvestors eyeing a buying oppor-tunity after the worst start toSeptember in 13 years, withstocks finishing down almost 3percent as China and interest ratefears dominated. China is likelyto remain in focus, but with a hostof data releases Wednesday, trad-ers will also be concentrating onindications of the timing of an in-terest rate rise, ahead of Friday'sall-important job's report. "Anyhope that September could pro-vide a little bit more stability forstock markets after the angst ofAugust was quickly set aside yes-terday as disappointing manufac-turing economic data, not onlyfrom China, but Europe and the

U.S. as well fed into an overwhelm-ing narrative of pessimism sur-rounding the global economic out-look," said chief market analyst atCMC Markets, Michael Hewson.Top-tier releases on Wednesday in-

clude the ADP employment fig-ures for August at 8:15 a.m. ET.These are expected to show thatprivate non-farm payrolls were uparound 200,000 during the month.Revised productivity and costs will

be released at 8:30 a.m., followedby July's factory orders data at10 a.m., to be accompanied bythe Federal Reserve's latest BeigeBook at 2 p.m. On Tuesday, themajor averages ended in correc-tion territory, down nearly 3 per-cent in their third-largest dailydecline for 2015. Stocks failed anattempt to cut losses in choppytrade prior to the close. In theirworst start to September in 13years, the Dow Jones industrialaverag (Dow Jones Global In-dexes: .DJI)e and S&P 500(^GSPC) had their worst firsttrading day of a month sinceMarch 2009. The Nasdaq(^NDX) had its worst first trad-ing day of a month since October2011.

UK e co n o m yacce le rate d o ve rsum m e r butChin a cris is co u ldh it trade , CBI saysRate of expansion edges higher for second consecutivemonth but impact of Asian crisis could spill over in todom est ic econom y, em ployers’ group warn s

UK growth picked up pace in thethree months to August but theeconomy faces risks from theknock-on effect of turbulence inChina, one of the UK’s leading in-dependent employers’ organisa-tions has said. A CBI survey of754 firms showed the rate of ex-pansion heading higher for the sec-ond successive month with expec-tations for the next three monthsalso buoyant. It said the gap be-tween firms reporting higher out-put volumes and those saying theywere lower was at a positive bal-ance of 31%, up from 20% in thethree months to July and the bestrate since May. The balance offirms expecting growth in the nextthree months was unchanged fromJuly at 27%. The CBI’s directorof economics, Rain Newton-Smith,said: “The weather may have beena washout this month, but the sunhas certainly been shining on theBritish economy. The pace ofgrowth has been energised acrossthe sectors, and it is good newsthat this is set to continue as wehead into the autumn.” Businessand professional services – includ-ing accountancy, law and market-ing firms – as well as retail madeparticularly large contributions,though growth in manufacturingremained broadly flat, the CBIsaid. “While the overall domestic

picture is looking bright, export-ers still face a challenge, especiallyin light of a weaker outlook for glo-bal growth and the strength of ster-ling making them less competi-tive,” Newton-Smith said. She alsopointed to risks from China, wherefears of a slowdown in the pace ofrapid economic growth has set offconvulsions in global markets.“Businesses will need to keep aclose eye on turbulence in the mar-kets, and whether it spills over intothe real economy,” she said. “TheUK’s direct exposure to China islimited, but slower growth thereand in other emerging markets hasa knock-on impact on confidencearound the globe, and could beardown on UK trade. The latest dataare consistent with our view thatthe outlook for the domestic econ-omy remains solid in the secondhalf of the year.” Last week theemployers’ organisation upgradedits growth forecast for the UKfrom 2.4% to 2.6% this year andfrom 2.5% to 2.8% in 2016, say-ing the upturn would be poweredby the “twin engines” of risinghousehold spending and robustbusiness investment.

On Friday, the Office for Na-tional Statistics confirmed an ini-tial estimate that GDP rose by0.7% in the second quarter, up from0.4% at the start of the year.

Economists cut forecasts forSingapore’s growth this yearEconomists polled in a quarterly surveyby the Monetary Authority of Singapore say they expectSingapore’s economy to grow 2.2 per cent this year, downfrom their previous forecast of 2.7 per cent.

SINGAPORE: Private sector econ-omists are less upbeat about thegrowth outlook for the Singaporeeconomy this year, and have mod-erated their growth expectationsfor several sectors, according to aquarterly survey released by theMonetary Authority of Singapore(MAS) on Wednesday (Sep 2).The economists polled in the sur-vey said they expect Singapore’seconomy to grow by 2.2 per centthis year, down from their medianforecast of 2.7 per cent in the pre-vious survey in June. The Sin-gapore economy expanded by 1.8per cent in the second quarter, low-er than the previous median fore-cast of 2.7 per cent. The manufac-turing sector is now expected tosee a contraction of 2.7 per centthis year, down from the 0.5 percent growth forecast in the previ-ous survey.

The finance and insurance in-dustry is expected to grow 6.6 percent, down from 7 per cent, whilethe construction sector is expect-ed to grow 2.3 per cent, down from3.3 per cent, and the accommoda-tion and food services sector is ex-pected to see a contraction of 0.1per cent, down from a growth fore-

cast of 1 per cent. In contrast, theforecast for the wholesale and re-tail trade sector has been revisedupwards. The sector is expectedto grow 4.8 per cent this year, upfrom 3.3 per cent in the previoussurvey. For Q3 2015, survey re-spondents said they expect theGross Domestic Product (GDP)to expand by 2.1 per cent. In com-parison, the forecast was 2.9 percent in the June survey. Inflationis expected to slow, with the econ-omists forecasting the consumerprice index (CPI) to fall by 0.2 percent for the full year, down fromthe 0 per cent forecast in March.Core inflation – which excludesaccommodation and car prices – isexpected to come in at 0.5 per cent,below the 1 per cent in the previ-ous survey.

Looking ahead, the economistssaid they expect GDP to expandby 2.8 per cent in 2016. Headlineinflation and MAS core inflationare forecast to be 1.1 per cent and1.3 per cent, respectively. TheMAS Survey of Professional Fore-casters is conducted every quarterafter the release of detailed eco-nomic data for the preceding threemonths.

ter a suicide bomb-urkish town of Su-33 people, and ansh troops guarding Syria that killedowever, that wasterally, not as part

coalition. The ad-ward the northern

Aleppo concernsis willing to estab-for Syrian refugees U.S.-led airstrikes

the coalition was significant.“The participation of a Mus-

lim country bordering Syria is ofutmost psychological importance

strengthens its trans-Atlantic tiesand deflects criticism for not en-gaging enough in anti-ISIS efforts.

Ozcan said ongoing develop-

involvement in these air operationsincreases the probability of ISISconducting terrorist attacks onTurkish soil by using dozens of

Union Party (PYD), considered apolitical offshoot in Syria of theoutlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Par-ty (PKK), would see its power

plying that Turkey’s airstrikeswould be required to focus onlyon ISIS for now.

Serhat Guvenc, professor of

cess to Incirlik, which is now se-cure. Unless going deep will be re-garded as a firm political commit-ment, there is no operational needfor Turkish aircraft fly deep intoSyria,” he said. Following its in-creased engagement against ISIS,and as the third most frequentlyinvolved NATO ally in U.S.-ledoperations after Britain and France,Turkey will likely maintain its sta-tus as a key partner for the Amer-icans, Guvenc added.

Iran be h in d Iraq an de ban o n ’s ‘Aw ake n in g?’

East this week, a awoken from hi-ling together Iraq

n an unlikely sce-tries have been the

rallies calling forheir socio-econom-ebanon, it’s the

sh crisis that hasd the headlines,city crisis and gov-rm package an-me Minister Haid-e hung heavy overeminiscent of thesome, the phenom-ountries has also

as “almost identi-

aq and Lebanon... weak, security isonditions are harsh,y is on the retreat,”st Ghassan al-Ay-l-Safir newspapery are complainingsectarianism, the state wealth andanagement of statee squandering of, and the lack of ac-e added. But whilechet off each oth-

se also bares somean intervention inebanon’s political

been widely noted Arab officials inebanese anti-gov-ters in downtownust 29. (AP) Riotd in front of pro- demonstration inters) Iranian hege- Iraq, former Primeal-Maliki has beenhe demonstrators’otesters hold up ait of Iraqi Prime

al-Maliki describ-pocrite and a liar’

madi. (File photo:is rule, many be-gemony prevailednment and Malikid a reputation forunnis in the coun-g power and alleg-$1 trillion in Iraqiid the collapse oflies to the decay-800 billion camebudget since 2004 $200 billion came

from donations and aid,” Iraqi Dep-uty Prime Minister for Energy Af-fairs, Bahaa al-Aaraji said in Au-gust. An Iraqi boy living in Iranholds a toy gun and flashes a vic-tory sign in front of a poster of theIranian Supreme leader AyatollahAli Khamenei. (AP) Read also:Iraqi official says Maliki’s govern-ment wasted $1 trillion of Iraqifunds Read also: What’s next forIraq and its key players aftersweeping reforms? Although topShiite cleric Ayatollah Ali al-Sis-tani has voiced support for con-tinuing protests, Iraqis of all sectsare mobilizing against social andeconomic concerns. For the Iraqipeople, sectarian rifts seeminglyhave no place in a protest demand-ing the basic right to electricityduring a scorching heatwave. “Peo-ple are now becoming aware thatnon-sectarian rights are necessaryand need to be developed,” Mid-dle East political scientist JosephA. Kéchichian told Arabiya News.But this does not necessarily indi-cate that religious influence is onthe wane, warns Kéchichian.“Rather, that people are demand-ing accountability, and may haveconcluded that religious authoritieswho perpetuate sectarianism forselfish reasons--need to let go. Weare not there yet but we’re gettingthere.” But even if the demands ofthe non-sectarian protests gainmore momentum, can Iranian in-tervention in the country post-Maliki - seen in the presence ofarmed Shiite militia Asaib Ahl al-Haq at the rallies - ever be curbed?In a Washington Post report in earlyAugust, reporters Mustafa Salimand Liz Sly noted “notable differ-ences” in the demands of demon-strations that included Asaib Ahlal-Haq backers. “Supporters ofQais al-Khazali, who heads thepowerful Iranian-backed AsaibAhl al-Haq militia, echoed his de-mand for the abolition of Iraq’selected parliament and its replace-ment with a presidential system,”Salim and Sly wrote. An Iraqifighter of the Shiite militia AsaibAhl al-Haq (The League of theRighteous) stands guard outsidethe militia's headquarters in Basra,on May 18, 2015 (AFP) Will Ira-nian interference hang heavy overthe protests in the coming weeks?“Hopefully protesters will not al-

low themselves to be used that way… It’s too early to tell,” Ali Khed-ery, a former U.S. advisor to astring of American ambassadors inIraq, told Al Arabiya News. “Whathas been relatively good news isthat Islamist parties, the Iranianproxies, have failed in their gover-nance and are hopefully now mak-ing way for a secular governmentwhich can hopefully be more com-petent,” he added. An ‘Awaken-ing’ that is ‘better late than never’Either way, Khedery believes thedemonstrations are long overdue.

“I had hoped to see protestsagainst sectarianism and poor gov-ernance long ago, but as they say,better late than never. “They usedto call the Anbar tribal movementagainst al-Qaeda ’al-Sahwa,’ or the’Awakening,’ and I think you’reseeing another ‘Awakening,’ butthis time among the broader soci-ety. This is fragile, but very pre-cious at the same time and I hopeit takes off,” Khedery added. Leb-anon’s fault lines But pan over toLebanon, and it’s a similar storyof Iranian incursions. In June, BBCcorrespondent in Beirut KevinConnolly described Lebanon asbeing “pivotal to Iran’s reach acrossMiddle East.” Since the Israel’swithdrawal from Lebanon in 2000,Iranian-backed Shiite movementHezbollah has been positioning it-self as a cornerstone of the coun-try’s political scene, while para-doxically undermining efforts bythe elected government to rule.This has been one of the main tus-sles that have long paralyzed thegovernment. A Lebanese boy in asouthern town grips a Hezbollahflag as he runs past the portraitsof Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatol-lah Ali Khamenei, left, the IslamicRepublic's late founder AyatollahRuhollah Khomeini, and Hezbol-lah militia Hassan Nasrallah, right.(File photo: AP) The trash crisishas amplified this, aggravating “ex-isting fault lines” which have pit-ted Hezbollah against the coun-try’s Western-aligned camps. Readalso: Lebanon in crisis as Hezbol-lah enters trash fray Read also: As#YouStink gains momentum, Leb-anese doubtful over change As inIraq, Lebanon’s protests show thatregardless of sect and political af-filiation, there is a collective an-guish on display, turning the page

on sectarian splits for the peopleon the street. A Lebanese activistholds a poster with pictures ofLebanese Cabinet ministers duringa protest against the ongoing trashcrisis. (AP) Still, Iranian-backedactors still pose underlying risksin Lebanon – also much like Iraq.Last week, Hezbollah ministers andtheir allies walked out of a Cabinetmeeting meant to discuss the wors-ening garbage crisis and boycottedthe meeting that followed. Theywere joined by politicians who areallied against Prime Minister Tam-mam Salam. Lebanon's Prime Min-ister Tammam Salam heads a cabi-net meeting at the government pal-ace in Beirut boycotted byHezbollah and allied Christian pol-iticians. (Reuters) For Kéchichian,Hezbollah’s political clout has notclouded their militant side. Group-ing them with Asaib Ahl al-Haq inIraq, Kéchichian describes bothmovements as “pro-Iranian Shiitemilitias” under “Tehran’s directcontrol.” But the analyst believestheir record remains poor. “Mili-tias can spread havoc, can kill andmaim, and otherwise make a nui-sance of themselves. In both coun-tries, ordinary citizens are reject-ing extremist groups, and bothAsaib Ahl al-Haq and Hezbollahare such organizations.” On itspart, Iran has recently voiced wish-es to turn over a new leaf with theArab world, and has denied claimsof any meddling in the region’s in-ternal affairs, particularly those ofLebanon. At a news conference inKuwait in July, Iranian ForeignMinister Mohammad Javad Zarifcalled on Arab countries to joinforces with Tehran to fight againstextremism and militancy in theMiddle East, saying: “Any threatto one country is a threat to all...No country can solve regionalproblems without the help of oth-ers.” ‘Unsuccessful adventurism’Following Tehran’s landmark dealwith Western powers, intending tocurb its nuclear ambitions, it is stillunclear whether Iran will shift itsfocus to the international commu-nity on new political and econom-ic fronts. U.S. President BarackObama’s domestic opponents, aswell as Israeli and Gulf officials,fear the deal may lead to more un-shackled, sanction-free interven-tion in the region. Most recently,in an op-ed by former U.S. VicePresident Dick Cheney publishedin the Wall Street Journal, he wrotethat the deal will likely lead to firstnuclear weapon use since WWII.Meanwhile, U.S. and Europeanpowers express their “hope” forIran to change tact and shift focusto new trade and energy opportu-nities, such as Italy recently an-nouncing it would fund projects inIran worth 3 billion euros ($3.3billion). Read also: OPINION - Eu-rope’s unseemly haste to embraceTehran Theoretically, in the eventof Tehran’s pivot away from theregion, the likes of Maliki, AsaibAhl al-Haq and Hezbollah “willcollapse” without Iranian backing,says Kéchichian. But has Iranianhegemony already become too farembedded through the countries’political, sectarian and militantveins?

“The real debate today is inTehran,” says Kéchichian. “Is Iranready to become a normal countryonce again or will it persist in itsunsuccessful adventurism?”

n an d Iraq, pro te s ts have ro cke d fragile go ve rn m e n tsy s e ctarian s trife , de adlo ck an d co rru ptio n . (AP/ Re u te rs )

Fle e in g Is lam ic Statekillin gs in Syria, afam ily re ach e s Bavaria

VIENNA: "Is this really our train?Is this the train to Germany?!"Maha screams with delight.

It is Monday evening in Vien-na's central train station and the25-year-old Arabic teacher, carry-ing her one-year-old son in herarms, can't quite believe that herfamily's harrowing journey fromSyria may soon be over.

Maha and her husband Khalildecided to attempt the treacher-ous trek to Europe with two smallchildren back in June, when self-styled Islamic State (IS) fightersentered their hometown of Kobaniand began butchering people withknives.

In the span of a few hours,Khalil says, dozens of bodies werelittering the streets and the familyhouse had been ransacked. It wastime to go, regardless of the risks.

"I used to have pictures of deadchildren from that massacre on myphone but I deleted them. Icouldn't look at them any more,"he says. Now Khalil, a tall, hand-some English teacher, Maha, 3-year-old Helan and baby Nour, arehuddled on the platform in Vien-na. Their story illustrates the highhopes and crushing, often life-threatening, lows refugees face intheir desperate attempts to reachEurope.

The family are among hun-dreds of migrants who were al-lowed onto trains in Budapest onMonday to cross into Austria, andthen Germany.

Khalil and Maha's goal is tomake it to Hamburg in northernGermany, and then maybe on toDenmark, where Khalil's sisterlives.

They spoke at length abouttheir journey from Syria to theheart of Europe with a Reuters re-porter who accompanied themfrom Vienna to Passau in southernGermany.

Exhausted, scared and under-nourished, their tale mirrors thoseof thousands of refugees from Syr-ia, Iraq, Afghanistan and otherwar-torn countries who have left

their homes with little more thanthe clothes on their back in thehope of finding a better life.

But until they reach their finaldestination, knowing next to noth-ing of their official status in Eu-rope, they can't shake the fear thatsomething could go horribly wrong— as it has for thousands who havedied trying to cross the Mediter-ranean or at the hands of ruthlesspeople traffickers.

Nearly drowned as Khalil andMaha tell it, they crossed intoTurkey 25 days ago, a numberMaha keeps repeating, having re-ligiously counted every night oftheir flight.

From there, they made theirway to Bodrum on Turkey's west-ern coast, roaming through thewoods until they found a smug-gler with an inflatable boat.

Maha says the boat was meantto carry four people, but the smug-gler packed the entire family andseven others on board. Several hun-dred meters off the coast, waterbegan entering the boat and thegroup almost drowned, beforeturning around and making it backto land.

From there, they travellednorth to Izmir to find a better wayacross the Aegean Sea, using mon-ey given to Khalil by his family topay the 3,600 euro fee — 1,200euros per adult and 600 per child— for transport to Mitilini on theisland of Lesbos.

After two days on Lesbos,they reached the Greek mainland.Using smugglers, they then navi-gated the woods of Macedonia andSerbia and ended up in a camp justacross the border in Hungary.

"We saw one man try to es-cape by climbing a fence," saidMaha. "They searched for himwith planes and the police beat himwhen they caught him. I saw himbleed." There are dozens of Syri-ans on the train.

One man who looks on thebrink of exhaustion fears his broth-er may be among the 71 found deadin a refrigeration truck last week

on an Austrian motorway. "It'svery difficult, very difficult," hesays.

Khalil and Maha are Kurds andproud of their heritage. A year ago,they say, they had tried to escapethe fighting in northern Syria bymoving to Erbil in the autonomousKurdistan region of Iraq. But theyfound it too expensive and wereforced to return to Kobani.

Khalil takes pride in how theKurds fought back IS militantsthere. He shows pictures on hisphone of Kurdish women fighters,proof he says that Kurds are morelike Westerners than Arabs.

"Where are we?" As the trainpulls into St Poelten station inAustria, activists are waiting on theplatform holding up banners ofsupport for the refugees. ButMaha is scared.

"Is this a protest against us?"she asks.

Two hours later, close to mid-night, the train crosses the borderinto Germany, stopping in Passau.Two German women, carryingstate-of-the-art sport bikes, enterand shriek when they see Maha,breastfeeding Nour beneath twoempty bike racks.

Gesturing wildly, they insistshe get up. They have paid to usethe bike racks and say they don'tcare where the family comes fromor how tired they are.

Minutes later, police with bul-let-proof vests enter the train,waking up the refugees with flash-lights and forcing them to disem-bark.

The glimmer of hope thatMaha felt on the platform in Vien-na hours earlier suddenly fades asthey are herded into an open han-gar area for assessing their nation-alities. The sound of crying chil-dren resonates in the night air.

Tears in his eyes, Khalil wor-ries that they will not be allowedto continue to Hamburg, and thenon to his sister.

"What's the name of thisplace?" Maha asks nervously. Shehas never heard of Passau.

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THURSDAY . SEPTEMBER 03, 2015

AFGHANISTANTIMES

PTA to ban Saif AliKhan everywhere

ISLAMABAD: After the Pakistancensor board banned Bollywoodmegastar Saif Ali Khan’s moviessubsequent to his comments aboutlosing his faith in Pakistan, the Pa-kistan Telecommunication Author-ity (PTA) has vowed to take mea-sures to ensure that all Pakistanissimilarly lose faith in Saif.

To be more specific, efforts areunderway to ensure that all tracesof Saif are removed from theinternet and mainstream media inthe country. “He will now, in es-sence, become a phantom,” asource privy to the PTA decisiontold this scribe. “Already there isa movement from the public itselfto ban commercials that have himas the star. So it’s not somethingthat people will mind us doing,”the source added. The new effortswill include ensuring that in addi-tion to Saif never making it to Pa-kistani cinemas and televisionscreens, websites that mention orfeature the actor will also beblocked in Pakistan. “Thisshouldn’t be a problem. If we cantake down all of YouTube, Saif issmall fry in comparison,” thesource said. It is hoped that by thetime the drive is complete, mostpeople will forget that Saif AliKhan ever made movies.

“We are only worried aboutwhat will happen when he does amovie with another big star. For

example, if he’s doing a collabora-tion with Shah Rukh Khan, howare we supposed to block that?There may be riots in Pakistan, ev-eryone knows how much ShahRukh Khan is loved,” the sourcesaid. One proposed solution forthe Saif Ali Khan ban. One pro-posed solution for the Saif AliKhan ban. “Heck, even HafizSaeed himself loves the man… youknow?” he added. It seems that ifthe plan is executed in the mannerthat is required then the next gen-eration may grow up having noinkling of who Saif is. “He willbecome a mythical creature… noone will have proof or faith in hisexistence. Like an imaginary friend,if you will,” the source informed.“But to be honest, his movies areso terribly boring I don’t see any-one bothering to spend that muchtime making up stories about himexisting in the next few years. Thiswill be easy peasy for us,” he said.Meanwhile veteran actor ShaanShahid has lauded the PTA’s move,and has wholeheartedly endorsedit. “The PTA, like myself, alwayscalls out traitors and bans accord-ingly. If I were a regulating body,I’d want to be the PTA because Ilike to ban stuff,” Shaan said.

“I can also tell you that I’d bemaking a movie on the PTA soon,where I’d be starring as the PTAmyself.”

LOS ANGELES: Taylor Swift wascrowned queen of the MTV VideoMusic Awards as rapper KanyeWest announced an improbable runfor president in 2020 and MileyCyrus released her new album forfree.

Pop superstar Swift, still only25 years old, won four of herwhopping 10 nominations, includ-ing Video of the Year for “BadBlood” with Kendrick Lamar andBest Pop Video for “Blank Space”.

She buried the hatchet withrapper Nicki Minaj, embracing herformer foe on stage during a briefrendition of “Bad Blood” dressedin a red tassled mini-dress and pre-sented West with a career achieve-ment award.

Cheered by his biggest fan,pregnant wife and reality star KimKardashian in a lace-up dress thatleft little to the imagination, Westappeared moved — but not hum-bled — by an extended standingovation.

Winning MTV’s Video Van-guard lifetime achievement awardwas a significant milestone forWest, previously given to greatssuch as Madonna, Michael Jack-son and Beyonce.

“I have decided in 2020 to runfor president,” he announced at theend of a rambling address in which

he also appeared to confess to smoking marijuana before taking the stage.“I will die for the art, for what I believe in and I ain’t always gonna be polite,” he said. “I rolled up a little something.

Celebri-treat: Behind the scenes atMagnum's chocolate party in Karachi

What’s brown, decadently rich andutterly luxurious? Enterprisingmarketing managers would likeyou to believe its Magnum Ice-cream. To put their point acrossthey rolled out the 'brown' carpetthis past weekend, splurged ontheir budgets and latched ontosomething else that is rich, luxuri-ous, glamorous and could also bebrown … fashion! Five top-tierdesigners were roped in to createchocolate-inspired capsule linesfor the brand's party by the seathis past weekend: Shehla Chatoor,Khadijah Shah of Elan, MaheenKarim, Nomi Ansari and OmerFarooq of Republic. Two amongstfashion’s wackier progeny – Fa-had Hussayn and Ali Xeeshan –were taken on-board to create the-matic installations for the event.The chandeliers were lit, a glossycatwalk was set up and as the par-ty began to roll, an illuminatedfloating sign declaring it to be‘Magnum Party 15’. Installationsby Fahad Hussayn (left) and AliXeeshan — Publicity photos

It was indulgent, luxurious andemulated the brand philosophy

that identifies with Magnum theworld over. The premium ice-cream brand is well-known fordabbling with everything glamor-ous, from special lounges at Cannesto seasonal parties that have takenover Regent Street to celebritybrand ambassadors like OrlandoBloom and Kareena Kapoor, whoare more than happy to strike pos-es while gorging happily on ice-cream bars. Closer to home, theMagnum lounge at PFDC SunsilkFashion Week two years ago wasa huge hit and who can forget2012’s Magnum Chocolate Partywith its old European décor, gild-ed masks, floating table girls andstar-studded guest list? This year’sparty attracted in a similar bevyof stars, starlets, pretty social but-terflies and the requisite milieu ofbloggers and journalists for don’twe all like to truss up in our (choc-olate-colored) designer digs, forgetthe humdrum realities of life andfind happiness in taking pictures,promptly posting them on socialmedia and scoring a decent num-ber of ‘likes’. On the 'brown car-pet': Anoushey Ashraf and Mohsin

Ali, HSY and Ali Xeeshan — Pub-licity photos On the 'brown car-pet': Anoushey Ashraf and MohsinAli, HSY and Ali Xeeshan — Pub-licity photos The wheels of socialmedia are turning at full-speed inPakistan and they adroitly raisedhype and hoopla for Magnum thisweekend. From brown carpet im-ages to videos of the fashion showitself, it all quickly filtered online,showing the world that chocolateice-cream on a stick could be pret-ty glamorous. With HUM Net-work playing media partner, theshow is also set to subsequentlyair on TV. On the 'brown carpet':Momal Sheikh, Amin Gulgee andZeba Bakhtiar — Publicity pho-tosBut does this high fashion ve-neer actually boil down to sales inthe somewhat staid, fluctuatingPakistani economy? Will these im-ages of slinky, glittering gowns beentrancing enough to lure the col-lege student, the harried workingmother or the office-bound em-ployee to buy an ice-cream whichis slightly pricier than its counter-parts? Statistics show that Mag-num’s glamorous image has helped

augment its sales internationally andthe same result is hoped to beachieved in Pakistan, confirms AzkaWaqar, Brand Manager at MagnumPakistan. “One of our favoritetaglines at Magnum is that ‘A daywithout pleasure is a day lost’ andan extravaganza like this is about en-joyment, living in the moment andhigh-flying fashion. Our guest-list,aside from the city’s who’s who,includes our regular Magnum clien-tele and we will be reaching out to abigger audience through TV and so-cial media coverage. It helps create agreater awareness of the ice-creamas a premium brand.” And it is triedand tested that any brand wantingto associate with luxury usuallymanages to do so by leaping ontothe fashion bandwagon. The designsshowcased at the Magnum partyran the gamut from wacky to so-phisticated and allowed designers todelve into their creative sides. Theone exception was Republic byOmer Farooq which stood out asthe only menswear line but other-wise, presented a line of convention-al menswear which lacked the dra-ma required for a show like this.

Biting on tempting sartorial choicesThe cream of the designer croptook centre stage at the recentlyheld Magnum Party, which tookplace at the Area 51 Marquee inthe city. Five designer heavy-weights showcased their chocolate-inspired collections as the eveningprogressed, with chocolate brownemerging as the favourite colour ofthe evening. Featuring materialssuch as silk, net and lace, the col-lection was chock full of eye-catch-ing designs and silhouettes.

Shehla Chatoor’s collectionincluded long off-shoulder dress-es, all in different shades of brownand materials, such as raw silk, netand lace. A particularly strikingbrown dress was laden with glim-mering motifs of the chocolate-coated ice cream.

Khadijah Shah of Élan rockedthe night with her range titled‘Chocolate Decadence’, which fea-tured pieces printed with splash-es of chocolate. The printed gownshad embellished belts that addedlustre to them. The chunky goldaccessories completed the looks.

Only a few can translate trendyinto their offerings like designerMaheen Karim. Showcasing brownas the ‘it’ colour this autumn/win-ter, she showed a series of jump-suits, cocktail dresses and gowns.

The colour palette featured shadesof brown, deep orange and cara-mel. Staying true to the theme ofthe event, Nomi Ansari presenteda collection boasting hues ofbrown. From cocktail dresses tolong gowns to the scarves, his col-lection exuded earthy feel of theupcoming autumn/winter season,

barring one piece with an unsight-ly and antithetical combination ofcolours, such as yellow, green andpeach. Republic by Omar Farooqshowcased a host of sartorialchoices for men. With shades, suchas brown, beige and orange, thetwo- and three-piece suits made astatement on the ramp. The co-

lour palette shone through the piec-es and left our fashion taste budstantalised. Published in The Ex-press Tribune, September 2nd,2015.

Like Life & Style on Facebook,follow @ETLifeandStyle on Twit-ter for the latest in fashion, gossipand entertainment.

Khadijah Shah ofÉlan rocked thenight with herrange titled‘Chocolate Deca-dence’. PHOTO:PUBLICITY

I would love towork with Hrithikin a feature film:Sonam Kapoor

Bollywood actors Hrithik Roshanand Sonam Kapoor who show-cased their splendid chemistry ina music video are now eager to worktogether in a full-length featurefilm. At a press meet, to launchrapper Yo Yo Honey Singh’s rec-reation of the popular song Dheeredheere from Aashiqui, Hrithik toldmedia: “I like to work with Sonam.I think we should do a film to-gether.” Sonam also responded toHrithik’s praise by stating: “Iwould love to work with him aswell in a feature film.” Hrithik andSonam had previously worked to-gether in an advertisement for asmartphone and this recreation ofDheere dheere, which is directedby Ahmed Khan, is the second timethey have been paired. “We justhad a ball. Ahmed actually had todistract us from our conversations.We were laughing half the time. Soit was just very joyful,” Hrithiksaid about his experience withSonam while shooting the video.

“I think that is what Sonambrings on to a set, because she’salways got that smile on her face,a 100-watt one that radiates andspreads across the ambience. Itwas great fun,” he added. Read:Hrithik Roshan will bring iconicsong Dheere Dheere Se back to life

After playingplain Janeand bandit,what nextfor Kangana?

Kangana Ranaut is looking forwardto Vishal Bhardwaj's 1940-set dra-ma 'Rangoon' that will see her play-ing an actress, who is romanticallyinvolved with her mentor. Ridinghigh on the success of her latestfilm "Tanu Weds Manu Returns",the National Award-winning ac-tress will star alongside ShahidKapoor and Saif Ali Khan in themovie. While Vishal got career-de-fining performances out of Shahidand Saif in "Kaminey", "Haider"and "Omkara", it remains to beseen how he uses Kangana's talentin the period drama. Kangana callsthe movie a "passionate love sto-ry", which is set in a turbulentperiod of Indian history.

"It is a film which is set in the1940s during the World War II. Itis about three characters and oneof them is a superstar and her men-tor, who she is romantically in-volved with.

Face-baking: Try thissecret make-up techniquefor flawless skin

Face-baking is a make-up tech-nique that is rapidly gaining popu-larity. It is used to set in the high-lighted areas of the face, resultingin flawless skin. The process origi-nates from drag queen make-up. Itvanishes fine lines, creases andpores, and is often used on bridesbecause it looks stunning in pic-tures. Firstly, apply your usualfoundation routine and concealer,then highlight the rest of the faceby using a cream foundation thatis one or two shades lighter thanyour skin tone. You want to high-light the areas where light naturallyhits the face: the bridge of yournose, chin and forehead. Take adamp beauty blender and blend ev-erything well to create anairbrushed finish. Then take yourfavorite loose powder. If you havea medium to dark complexion, thebanana powder by Ben Nye is rec-

ommended. For a fair complexion,use pink powder. Use a beautyblender to easily apply your makeup and blend the differing tones.(Courtesy: www.face-labs.com) Dipyour damp beauty blender in theloose powder and press it on thehighlighted areas. Apply a generousamount. Another great trick withface-baking is that you can create acontour on your cheek without ac-tually contouring. Simply use asquare damp sponge and apply asharp line of the loose powder alongthe hollows of your cheeks. It natu-rally creates a sharp contour becausethe highlighted area stands out. Nowthat you have applied the loose pow-der, wait for the powder to ‘’bake’’your face. This takes five to 10 min-utes. Then take a fluffy brush andsweep away all the excess powder...and voila! The skin is left smooth,pore-free and highlighted.

Gary Barlow surprisestake that fan at wedding

Singer Gary Barlow surpriseda Take That fan on her wedding day with a performance

at her reception. Katie Hardy hadno idea that the Back for Goodsinger was about to walk in on herspecial day after friends kept thesecret for eight months, reportsmirror.co.uk. Even groom StephenHardy was kept in the dark, hav-ing booked a local Robbie Williamstribute act to fill in at the recep-tion at the Three Nuns pub inLoughborough, Leicestershire, onSaturday. But when the tributesinger finished his last number,Barlow walked on to the dancefloor and belted out his formerband Take That’s 2006 hit Rule

the World. Hardy said: “The realGary Barlow walked in, and I justcouldn’t believe it. It was just theicing on the cake — I was speech-less.” The 33-year-old has been aTake That fan since she was eight.She even has the names of theoriginal band members tattooed onher arm.

Her friends and other die-hardfans put the couple’s names for-ward after Barlow launched a Twit-ter competition in January, vow-ing to sing at his most dedicatedfollowers’ wedding.

Take That head to Dubai toperform for the first time on Oc-tober 30 at the Dubai Media CityAmphitheatre.

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THURSDAY . SEPTEMBER 03, 2015

AFGHANISTANTIMES

NEW YORK: Five-timechampion Roger Federerand 2012 winner Andy

Murray reached the US Open sec-ond round Tuesday as the crush-ing heat took the number of first-round retirements to a record 10.

Second-seeded Federer had lit-tle trouble in seeing off Argenti-na's world number 34 LeonardoMayer 6-1, 6-2, 6-2 in just 77 min-utes on Arthur Ashe Stadium. The34-year-old Swiss, bidding to be-come the oldest champion in NewYork in 45 years, fired 12 aces, 29winners and broke serve six times.“I feel good now. I actually wasn'tso confident yesterday. I just feltlike maybe it could be one of thosematches I just couldn't see com-ing,” said Federer.

The 17-time Grand Slam cham-pion goes on to face Belgium'sSteve Darcis, who was handed aplace in the next stage when Cyp-riot veteran Marcos Baghdatis re-tired injured with a groin strain.

It was the 10th retirement inthe men's event in the first round;there have also been two pulloutsin the women's draw.

Third seed Murray downed thesport's latest bogeyman, NickKyrgios, 7-5, 6-3, 4-6, 6-1 for hisfourth win in four meetings againstthe Australian and third in threeGrand Slam matchups this year.The British star, who has made atleast the quarter-finals in NewYork every year since 2010, goeson to tackle France's Adrian Man-narino.

Kyrgios, the world 37, goesaway to contemplate facing Mur-ray again in the Davis Cup semi-finals later this month.

“It was tough, very humid, Ihad to do a lot of running and de-fending,” said Murray after hisnight match.

Kyrgios came into the tourna-ment under the shadow of a sus-pension after his now infamous andlurid Montreal rant at StanWawrinka, but that threat onlyapplies to ATP events. So it wasno surprise that the first profani-ty from the Australian came afterjust four games of the first set,when he complained about fanstaking their seats during points.Kyrgios, 20, showed glimpses ofhis undoubted talent but his lackof focus once again cost him andhe picked up a warning for swear-ing as the tie drifted away fromhim. His Davis Cup teammate,Thanasi Kokkinakis, was alsoknocked out, retiring on one leg inthe fifth set against French 12thseed Richard Gasquet.

The 19-year-old Kokkinakis,who was caught up in Kyrgios'sinfamous slur against Wawrinka,suffered severe cramping. But hebattled on, serving underhand andforced to play at walking pace be-fore he finally gave up, losing 4-6,6-1, 4-6, 6-3, 2-0 after almost threehours in 30-degree heat. After sixmen retired on Monday, Kokki-nakis, Baghdatis, Ernests Gulbisand Kazakhstan's AleksandrNedovyesov joined the walkingwounded on Tuesday. “It's justfrustrating because I started play-ing good tennis. I was getting firedup,” said Kokkinakis. “I went upto hit a swing and volley or some-thing, and both my calves ... it wasjust a disaster.”

Nedovyesov was down 6-0, 7-6 (7/2), 1-0 to former championLleyton Hewitt when he called ahalt after suffering a right shoulderinjury. Hewitt, playing in his finalUS Open, will take on compatriotBernard Tomic for a place in thelast 32. Tomic, seeded 24, beatBosnia's Damir Dzumhur 5-7, 7-6(7/4), 6-4, 6-3.

Wawrinka, the fifth seed and asemi-finalist in 2013, made thenext round with a 7-5, 6-4, 7-6 (8/6) win over Spain's Albert Ramos-Vinoles. French Open championWawrinka will next tackle SouthKorean teenager Chung Hyeon.

“For sure it's surprising to seeso many players pull out,” saidWawrinka. “It was hot today whenI practiced at 4. You need to beready physically for that.” Japanmay have lost fourth seed KeiNishikori on Monday, but 19-year-old Yoshihito Nishioka re-stored some national pride with a6-4, 2-6, 6-7 (7/9), 6-1, 6-2 winover fellow qualifier Paul-HenriMathieu of France.

In the women's draw, LucieSafarova joined the seeds casualtylist when the Czech left-handerbecame the fourth top-10 playerto lose in the first round.

Sixth-seeded Safarova slippedto a 6-4, 6-1 defeat to Ukraine'sLesia Tsurenko, the woman shebeat in the semi-finals in New Ha-ven just last week. Safarova joinsseventh seed Ana Ivanovic, eighth-ranked Karolina Pliskova and Car-la Suarez Navarro, the 10th seed,in failing to get out of the firstround. World number two SimonaHalep avoided the upsets whenNew Zealand opponent MarinaErakovic retired with a knee inju-ry. Halep was leading 6-2, 3-0when her 99th-ranked rival calledit quits.

Aussie Samantha Stosur,whose 2011 US Open final winover Serena Williams was the lasttime the US world number one lostat Flushing Meadows, beat TimeaBabos of Hungary 6-3, 6-4. Two-time Wimbledon winner PetraKvitova, the fifth seed, needed just59 minutes to beat German quali-fier Laura Siegemund 6-1, 6-1.

Se co n d-s e e de d Fe de re r had little tro uble in s e e in g o ff Arge n tin a's w o rld n um be r 3 4Le o n ardo Maye r 6 -1, 6 -2 , 6 -2 in jus t 77 m in ute s o n Arthur As he Stadium .

Clarke withdraws fromTWENTY20 CONTRACTTO ASSESS FUTURE

SYDNEY: Former Australia cricketcaptain Michael Clarke has with-drawn from a lucrative domesticTwenty20 contract as he reas-sesses whether he will ever playthe sport again.

Clarke retired from all interna-tional cricket after Australia lostthe Ashes to England last month,with Alastair Cook's side wrappingup a series victory after the fourthTest before Australia won the fi-nal match in London. “Right nowfor me, I just think my body andmy mind need some time awayfrom the game of cricket ... and justsee what that's like to be withoutit,” Clarke told Australia's TripleM radio from London on Wednes-day. Clarke was taking a break inEurope with his wife, who is ex-pecting their first child, and thathad given him the opportunity totake stock of his future, he added.“Kyly and I are going to go awayfor a week or so before I fly backhome. And that's just going to giveme some time to have a think aboutwhat I'm going to do when I gethome. “I haven't had a chance topress stop and have a think aboutthings. “Now I've finally got that

opportunity I just want to makethe most of that and spend sometime with her and have a really goodthink. “I'm really hopeful that loveand passion that I've always hadfor the game will come back.”

Clarke, who would haveteamed up with controversialformer England batsman KevinPietersen at the Melbourne Starsin Australia's Big Bash League(BBL), added he still had the op-portunity of pursuing the secondyear of his contract.

“I've got a two-year deal at themoment, so hopefully it all turnsout okay and I come back and playnext year,” Clarke said. “But evenif they decide they don't want meto play, I'm hopeful I'll be able tohelp the club have success in an-other way.” Clarke, who played115 Tests for Australia, battledchronic back problems throughouthis career, which became difficultto manage in the past two yearsand struggled with hamstring prob-lems due to the back injury.

He struggled with the bat sincereturning after surgery earlier thisyear and was woefully out of formon the Ashes tour.

Chelsea fall eight points behind leaders Manchester City who beat Watford in the English Premier League.

Manchester City maintained theirperfect start to the season with a2-0 victory over promoted Wat-ford as champions Chelsea suffereda shock 2-1 home defeat by Crys-tal Palace. Raheem Sterling scoredhis first goal for the club andFernandinho netted a superb sec-ond to lift City to their fourth suc-cessive win and open an eight-

point advantage over Chelsea. TheStamford Bridge side's under-whelming start to the season con-tinued at Stamford Bridge despiteRadamel Falcao's first goal for theclub, Joel Ward grabbing the Pal-ace winner nine minutes from timeto put his side second in the table.Liverpool, who had taken sevenpoints from their opening three

games, slumped to a surprise 3-0home defeat by West Ham Unitedand had midfielder PhilippeCoutinho sent off. Newcastle Unit-ed's Fabricio Coloccini scored anown-goal as Arsenal laboured totheir second win of the season witha highly-charged 1-0 victory overtheir 10-man hosts at St James'Park. Sunderland remained bottom

after an eventful 2-2 draw at AstonVilla and promoted Bournemouthdrew 1-1 with Leicester City afterJamie Vardy cancelled out CallumWilson's fourth goal in two games.Club-record signing Salomon Ron-don scored to give West BromwichAlbion a 1-0 victory over StokeCity who had Ibrahim Afellay andCharlie Adam sent off.

Ibarguen :That do m in an tath le te yo uhave n 't he ard o fUnbeaten in 29 com petitions since London 2012, the Colom -bian has had a fair share of hiccups en route success.

Caterine Ibarguen bagged a secondworld title in Beijing’s iconic Bird’sNest stadium on Monday. Withthe triumph, she has been un-beaten in 29 competitions sincewinning silver at the London Olym-pics three years ago. The compe-tition was unusually scare-free: nolast minute injury nightmare, noextreme allergic reactions on event-day but a smooth passage throughqualifying followed by a single,supreme and title-winning jump of14.9m in the final. It hasn’t alwaysbeen like this, however. In her fi-nal training session before London2012, she pulled her left hamstring.The stages of her life... Moving toMedellin aged 14 : It wasn't easy.It was my grandmother, mymother and my first coachApartado Wilder Zaparta whopersuaded me. They saw it as achance for a new life - better hous-ing and better food. The coachingin Medellin : It was extremelystrict. They forced us to do 300-400 sit-ups daily. The coach ReglaSandrino reminded us to "think ofyourself as "I am not the best ofColombia, but the least bad". Ath-ens Olympics (where she finished16th in the high jump) : I had acomplex about myself back then,about my physical condition, myphysique, which is a little thickerand bigger compared to high jump-ers from other countries who areall extremely slim. PsychologicallyI was not prepared for it. “I criedmany times,” Ibarguen told AlJazeera.

“All my life I dreamt of beingin good shape for the Olympics,but I couldn’t run. Every time Itried to jump, I tore more musclefibres.”

Two weeks of intense phys-iotherapy followed and, faking100% fitness, she battled throughthe pain to qualify for the final.She landed a 14.8m in her final at-tempt to finish on the podium. Ifthat was remarkable, events at theMoscow World Championships

the following year took the dramato a new level. Hours before thefinal, Ibarguen was on the bus tothe stadium when she fainted. “I’deaten oatmeal for breakfast whichgave me terrible cramps. “Duringthe journey the pain became un-bearable. I was sweating uncontrol-lably, apparently my eyes startedto roll and then I passed out.” Thebus didn’t stop because severalathletes were already late for theircompetitions. Ibarguen was laidout on the floor until she regainedconsciousness. But it wasn’t untilshe reached the stadium that shereceived any medical attention.Few would have considered com-peting that evening, but Ibarguenwas determined. Once again jump-ing through pain, she recorded theyear’s best jump to claim her firstglobal title.

The origins of such mental for-titude lie partly in a brutish train-ing regime. They also lie in an up-bringing which spanned one of themost troubled periods inColombia’s recent history. Ibarguengrew up in the coastal town ofApartado where life revolvedlargely around banana trade. Herparents worked on the local plan-tations and she remembers grow-ing up on a diet rich in two things– bananas and fish.

While the family survived ona meagre income, her natural ath-letic attributes were evident froman early age – they were not al-ways to her liking though.

“I was always taller than theother children at school and I hatedit,” laughs Ibarguen, who grew toan imposing 1.81m. “One day Iasked my mum if she could findsomething to stop me growing.”

Family life wasn’t alwayseasy. Amid escalating conflict be-tween guerrillas and various para-military groups, Ibarguen’s par-ents separated when she wasseven. While her father remainedin Apartado, her mother fled to theneighbouring town of Currulao.

I’ll take onAbraham: Murray

Martin Murray says he's happyto return to Germany to take onWBO super-middleweight cham-pion Arthur Abraham.

The St Helens fighter (31-2-1-KO14) takes on Jose MiguelTorres (31-6-KO27) on Saturdaynight live on Sky Sports and knowsbecoming only the second man tostop the Colombian would takehim closer to world title fightsagainst the likes of Abraham andWBA champion Fedor Chudinov.

Looking ahead to Torres, Mur-ray said: "He can obviously punch.He's only been stopped once bythe big-punching David Lemieux.When he steps up in class, he getsbeat but he's tough and he can clear-ly punch. He's awkward and hardto pin down too. "I'm expecting afew challenges with him being ableto punch and knowing how to sur-

vive so I've just got to go in thereand do my own thing. We'll seehow the fight unfolds then. Iwould go back to Germany to fightAbraham. I wouldn't mind goingback there. Obviously I'd ratherhave it here but beggars can't bechoosers so I'll take whatever I canget. "You don't knock 27 peopleout in 31 wins if you can't punchbut the way I'm feeling, regardlessof who I'm fighting, they're goingto get it. I'm feeling really good andhave had a great camp. I'm chomp-ing at the bit.

"I'm going in there to do somedamage and get the stoppage. I'mnot going in there to do 12 rounds.If it goes 12 rounds then I'll be dis-appointed. The way things havebeen looking at the gym, peoplelike this shouldn't be going 12rounds with me.

To lle r ‘re lie f’ atre tirem en tIrish 2,000 Guineas-winningtrainer James Toller admitted tofeeling relieved after confirming hisintention to quit the training ranksat the end of the season. TheNewmarket-based handler, whohas held a licence for 35 years, hasrun just five horses in 2015, withSaturation Point's Lingfield successin April the yard's only winner ofthe campaign. Toller has cited hislack of ammunition as the majorreason behind his decision to callit a day, but can reflect on somefond memories, particularly Bach-elor Duke's Classic triumph at theCurragh in 2004. "I suppose theIrish 2,000 Guineas was probablythe most prestigious race I man-aged to win," said Toller. "Goingto Ireland we were pretty hopefulhe would run a big race. He hadshown good form as a two-year-

old - he was a bit unlucky in theDewhurst - and the week beforehe the Irish Guineas I rememberhe did a very good piece of work

with a horse called Duck Row, whowas a very good work horse. "Theground was fast at the Curragh,much faster than it was atNewmarket, which suited him, andeverything came right on theday."Toller can also count the 1997July Cup with Compton Placeamong his big-race victories.

"There were a few other gooddays, but not as many as I'd haveliked," he said. "It was also greatto win the July Cup. That didn'tsurprise me as much as it did a lotof people as he was a very goodhorse. "He'd only finished out ofthe first two once before and itwas just a shame he never had theopportunity to show how good hewas after that."

On his decision to retire, thetrainer added: "It was something Iwas thinking about last year as I

felt I just didn't have enough horses,but as a 60-year-old racehorsetrainer you start to wonder whatelse you can do.

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THURSDAY . SEPTEMBER 03 . 2015-Sunbula 12, 1394 H.S

Vol:X Issue No:42 Price: Afs.15

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