Posts Tagged ‘Afghanistan’

Pro-women legislation

A THOMAS Reuters Foundation poll of gender specialists reported that Afghanistan in 2011 was the world’s most dangerous country in which to be a woman, due to poverty, poor healthcare and harmful cultural

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Via DAWN.com

PM to talk Afghan peace in Qatar

ISLAMABAD – Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani will travel to Qatar next week to talk with leaders there about the prospect of a peace deal to end war in Afghanistan.
The 3-day official trip beginning from Monday suggests some progress in a process long stymied by mistrust. The visit (February 6-8) also aims at strengthening bilateral ties with the Gulf state in multiple areas.
In an …

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2011 deadliest for Afghan civilians: UN

KABUL – A record number civilians were killed in Afghanistan’s decade-long war in 2011 – the fifth straight year the death toll has risen, the United Nations reported Saturday.
A total of 3,021 civilians died – mostly at the hands of insurgents – up eight per cent from 2,790 in 2010, the UN mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said in its annual report.
The report stands in contrast to an upbeat …

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Taliban deny Mullah Omar wrote to Obama

KABUL – The Afghan Taliban denied on Saturday that the group’s leader Mullah Omar wrote to the White House last year.
The White House received a letter in 2011 which purported to come directly from Mullah Omar, asking the United States to deliver prisoners whose transfer is now central to American efforts to broker peace in Afghanistan, an Obama administration official said …

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Taliban deny their leader sent letter to Obama

The Afghan Taliban on Saturday denied that their leader Mullah Omar had written to President Barack Obama last July. Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said reports that Omar had sent a letter indicating an interest in talks key to ending the war in Afghanistan were “baseless allegations.” “The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan is strongly condemning these rumors and allegations,” Mujahid said in …

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PM Gilani will travel to Qatar Monday for Afghan peace talk: FO

Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani will travel to Qatar next week to talk with government leaders there about moves to broker a peace deal with the Afghan Taliban, Foreign Office said Saturday.
Talking to a private television on Saturday, Foreign Office Spokesman Abdul Basit confirmed that the premier would visit Qatar next week as part of efforts to bring peace in Afghanistan.
The Prime …

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American brigadier general dies in Afghanistan

A 49-year-old US Brigadier general died of apparently natural causes in Afghanistan, the Army said Friday, the highest-ranking soldier to die during the war.
Brig. Gen. Terence J. Hildner was identified as the first of that rank to die in Afghanistan since the war began there in 2001.
The New Haven, Conn.-born Hildner, who listed Fairfax, Va., as his home, took command of 13th Sustainment Command …

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Record civilian death toll in Afghan war last year: UN

A record number civilians were killed in Afghanistan’s decade-long war last year, with a dramatic rise in the number of deaths from suicide attacks, the United Nations reported Saturday.

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Via DAWN.com

Mullah Omar sent letter to Obama to end war

WASHINGTON: Reclusive Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar wrote to President Barack Obama last year indicating an interest in talks key to ending the war in Afghanistan, current and former US officials told The Associated Press. The letter purportedly from Omar was unsigned. It was passed through a Taliban intermediary in July and was intended for [...]

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Via DAWN.com

Pakistan safe havens causing problems, says Petraeus

WASHINGTON  – Doubting the ‘willingness’ of Pakistan to go after the militant groups enjoying sanctuary in the country, top US intelligence official has said these elements have caused major problems for the Afghan and coalition forces working for a new Afghanistan.
‘We should be cautious in what we anticipate in terms of the ability of our Pakistani partners, and in …

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Indian consortium may bid for Afghan mining blocks: report

State-run Steel Authority of India Ltd and government-controlled Hindustan Copper Ltd are in talks with India’s Aditya Birla Group and Jindal Steel and Power Ltd to form a consortium to bid for gold and copper deposits in Afghanistan, the Mint newspaper reported.

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Via DAWN.com

Russia, NATO prepare new Afghanistan transit deal: report

Russia and NATO may soon sign an agreement that would ease cargo transportation from Afghanistan via Russia’s territory, the Kommersant daily reported on Friday.
Moscow is in talks with NATO on the so-called “multimodal” cargo transit from Afghanistan, which would “increase the efficiency of NATO withdrawal… by using various transportation means within the same …

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Pakistan hints at end to Nato blockade

ISLAMABAD – Pakistan signalled on Thursday that it could shortly end a more than two-month blockade on NATO supplies entering Afghanistan for foreign forces.Islamabad shut the border and ordered a review of its US alliance after air strikes killed 24 Pakistani soldiers on November 26, in what NATO and the US military later blamed on a series of mistakes by both sides.Foreign Minister Hina …

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US to cut Afghan combat role in 2013

ABOARD A US MILITARY AIRCRAFT  - The United States plans to end its combat mission in Afghanistan in 2013 and shift to a training role, one year before most US troops are due to withdraw, Defence Secretary Leon Panetta said Wednesday.Although US commanders had already indicated a move towards an advisory mission in coming months, Panetta’s comments marked the first time the US …

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ISI aiding Afghan militants: Nato

LONDON  - Pakistan’s security services are secretly aiding Afghanistan’s Taliban, who assume their victory is inevitable once Western troops leave, a secret NATO document says, according to reports Wednesday.Lieutenant Colonel Jimmie Cummings, a spokesman for the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force, confirmed the existence of the document, reported by …

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No hidden agenda in Afghanistan, says Hina

KABUL  – Pakistan said Wednesday it had no hidden agenda in Afghanistan and would back a peace process with the Taliban as long as it’s driven by Afghans and not other figures on the international stage.Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar visited Kabul on Wednesday to mend relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan that broke down last year when a former Afghan president who was …

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Taliban deny plan for talks with Afghan govt

KABUL  - The Taliban militia leading a 10-year insurgency in Afghanistan on Wednesday denied that they would soon hold talks with Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s government in Saudi Arabia. “There is no truth in these published reports saying that the delegation of the Islamic Emirate would meet with representatives of the Karzai government in Saudi Arabia in the near future,” the Taliban …

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