Peace Jirga

Pakistan and Afghanistan reiterate their commitment to put up a joint front against the terrorists in the region during the Estranged South Asian Neighbors conference in Kabul. Afghan president Hamid Karzai and Pakistani prime minister Shaukat on Tuesday urged working together against the insurgents and terrorists along their common border. Addressing a joint news conference, both leaders expressed confidence towards the Peace Jirga slated to meet in the last week of June or early August in Kabul. Last week the Peace Jirga delegation from the Afghan side met President Musharaf in Islamabad and voiced maximum interest in a stable and prosperous Afghanistan. Both the Afghan and Pakistani delegation have agreed that the joint Afghan/Pakistani Jirga should be held after two months in Kabul and they are now busy with working on the Jirga agenda. Read more here

Six Million Children at Risk

Recently I heard shocking news from Noor Mohammad Wasil, the deputy minister of social work. Lately he visited an orphanage in Mazar-e-Sharif, northern Afghanistan. According to Noor Mohammad, 6 million children are at risk of sexual abuse, violence and harsh child labor. According to the deputy of minister of social work, 50% of these children are under 19. Since 6 million out of 12 million got the opportunity to go to school, the rest of the children are under exposure of different threats and abuse.
According to his estimation, children are exposed to addiction of narcotics, child abuse, marriage under the legal age and smuggling.
The government and international community must pay attention, since these are serious threats for the future of the children.
Read more at Afghan LORD

Adventures with the Attorney General

We've been having SO MUCH fun with the Attorney General in Afghanistan. There doesn't seem to be very much outcry in the U.S. but I think his case is an example of inept meddling and its repercussions...continued here

Khalilzad, Again

On a day when Zal appeared in front of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee seeking approval as the nominee for Permanent Representative of the United States to the UN, Jawad Zarif, Iran’s kind of Permanent Representative to the UN, went on record with this...continued here

Pak-Afghan relation: attempts to improve it

An Afghan journalist delegation visited Pakistan in May. In the course of the trip the delegation visited different Pakistani cities and talked with various Pakistani journalists, officials and activists. The delegation reveals its finding of Pak-Afghan crisis-hit relationship...continued here