Afghanistan News & Discussion

r_subramanian · Post by **r_subramanian** » 23 May 2014 07:48

Attack on Indian consulate in Herat, Afghanistan

The Indian consulate in the Afghan city of Herat has been attacked by gunmen, and the area is surrounded by security forces.

A BBC reporter in the area says the assault has been going on for several hours.

It is not clear who is behind the attack and there are no details of casualties.

URL: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-27533268

Kritavarman · Post by **Kritavarman** » 23 May 2014 08:12

Updates from MEA on twitter

#India's Consulate in Herat, #Afghanistan attacked. Brave ITBP personnel and Afghan soldiers rebut attackers. All safe. Operation underway.

https://twitter.com/MEAIndia/status/469675870815133696

#India-#Afghanistan officials in touch on attack on India's Consulate in Herat. Foreign Secy Sujatha Singh monitoring situation. All safe

https://twitter.com/MEAIndia/status/469676854207447040

Rudradev · Post by **Rudradev** » 23 May 2014 08:20

Ashraf Ghani is a Pathan, a total pro-Paki stooge of the Vali Nasr variety, with a Shortcut Aziz style World Bank career and a Columbia University education behind him. Afghan RAPE equivalent par excellence. Needless to say he is being ptopped up by the Americans with both fists.

Bad news for India if he becomes President of Afghanistan.

Shankk · Post by **Shankk** » 23 May 2014 09:19

Indian consulate attacked in Afghanistan's Herat

Gunmen armed with machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades attacked the Indian consulate in western Afghanistan's Herat province on Friday, an assault that injured no diplomatic staff, police said.

The three gunmen opened fire on the consulate from a nearby home, provincial police chief Abdul Sami Qatra said. Police killed two of the three gunmen, though one continued to fire on security forces trying to secure the area, Qatra said.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack. Afghanistan is experience a rise in insurgent attacks as foreign troops plan to withdraw from the country by the end of the year.

The attack also comes at a time when Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai said that he will be attending the swearing-in ceremony of Prime Minister-designate Narendra Modi.

Pratyush · Post by **Pratyush** » 23 May 2014 09:28

Pray that the ITBP men suffered no injuries. Is this the test that Modi was supposed to face from the Bakis.

abhishek_sharma · Post by **abhishek_sharma** » 23 May 2014 09:53

That Ashraf Ghani was the guy US was supporting in last elections, right? Even Robert Gates wrote in his book that the open bias of US state department for one of the candidates was embarrassing.

Philip · Post by **Philip** » 23 May 2014 10:05

There is no Q that the ISI ? Paki Military is behind this outrage.Two can play at the same game. If the Pakis think that they can balckmail the new regime they're very mistaken.Though it may take time,a pro-active approach to Pak's terror can be formulated."What you sow ,you shall reap".

Yogi_G · Post by **Yogi_G** » 23 May 2014 10:10

To take on and win against the Taliban in their turf at 4 AM in the morning, 1000 pranaams to the bravery of these chaps.

SaiK · Post by **SaiK** » 24 May 2014 06:10

If I were having the controls, I would have sent more arms to Afghanistan under a protocol exchange, with deep strike support to do hot pursuits.

anupmisra · Post by **anupmisra** » 24 May 2014 17:11

Remember this news article from a month ago? ‘Pakistani Intelligence Agency Planned Terror Attacks On Foreign Consulates In India’

Hussain, who was arrested by the Indian security official from the southern city of Chennai, made the revelation during his interrogation. When asked about the purpose of his visit to Chennai, the Sri Lankan national further revealed that the Pakistani High Commission in Colombo had hired him to execute the ISI’s alleged plans in India. According to him, the US Consulate in Chennai and the Israeli Consulate in Bengaluru were main targets of the ISI.

pankajs · Post by **pankajs** » 28 May 2014 00:19

CNN Breaking News ‏@cnnbrk 34m

Obama: U.S. plans to have about 9.8K troops in Afghanistan after 2014, then about half that by end of 2015. http://cnn.it/1jqnx3t

CNN Breaking News ‏@cnnbrk 32m

Obama: U.S. military in Afghanistan would "draw down to normal embassy presence in Kabul" by end of 2016. http://cnn.it/1jqnx3t

Reuters Top News ‏@Reuters 22m

.@BarackObama, announcing U.S. troop plan, says Afghanistan will not be a perfect place and it's not U.S. responsibility to make it one.

Peter Baker ‏@peterbakernyt 30m

The bottom line message Obama wants to send: Afghan war will be over (for Americans, that is) by the time he leaves office.

RoyG · Post by **RoyG** » 28 May 2014 01:58

I used to worry a bit but I don't anymore since we now have a very confident, stable, and forward thinking gov. We will be able to hit back with the full force of the nation. We have to pull ourselves out of this neighborhood mess. Nobody is going to do it for us.

svinayak · Post by **svinayak** » 28 May 2014 10:16

pankajs wrote:
CNN Breaking News ‏@cnnbrk 34m

Obama: U.S. plans to have about 9.8K troops in Afghanistan after 2014, then about half that by end of 2015. http://cnn.it/1jqnx3t
CNN Breaking News ‏@cnnbrk 32m

Obama: U.S. military in Afghanistan would "draw down to normal embassy presence in Kabul" by end of 2016. http://cnn.it/1jqnx3t
Reuters Top News ‏@Reuters 22m

.@BarackObama, announcing U.S. troop plan, says Afghanistan will not be a perfect place and it's not U.S. responsibility to make it one.
Peter Baker ‏@peterbakernyt 30m

The bottom line message Obama wants to send: Afghan war will be over (for Americans, that is) by the time he leaves office.

Obama to warn against ‘overreaching’ foreign policy in West Point address

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 28 May 2014 23:29

anupmisra wrote:Remember this news article from a month ago? ‘Pakistani Intelligence Agency Planned Terror Attacks On Foreign Consulates In India’

Hussain, who was arrested by the Indian security official from the southern city of Chennai, made the revelation during his interrogation. When asked about the purpose of his visit to Chennai, the Sri Lankan national further revealed that the Pakistani High Commission in Colombo had hired him to execute the ISI’s alleged plans in India. According to him, the US Consulate in Chennai and the Israeli Consulate in Bengaluru were main targets of the ISI.

I think this is ISI disinformation. The repurcussions would be terrible for TSp if such an attack happens. So they send rats to scout such areas for distraction while the real bandicoots attack Indian targets.

muraliravi · Post by **muraliravi** » 31 May 2014 05:02

This election is too crucial from India's perspective. If abdullah wins, India may succeed in denying strategic access for pakis into afghanistan

Prem · Post by **Prem** » 02 Jun 2014 23:56

http://www.dawn.com/news/1110129/indian ... fghanistan

HERAT: An Indian aid worker was Monday abducted by unidentified gunmen in Afghanistan's western Herat province, local officials and India's foreign ministry said.Sayed Fazullah Wahidy, governor of Herat province, said the aid worker was kidnapped in the afternoon, adding “police have started the search operation for him.”India's foreign ministry confirmed the incident, with spokesman Syed Akbaruddin posting on Twitter: “Indian national working with an NGO (non-profit group) in Herat province of Afghanistan has been kidnapped.”The Indian mission was “pursuing the matter with local authorities,” he added, without giving any further details.Indian TV channels said the official was working with a global non-profit group in the education sector.The charity, Jesuit Refugee Service, said in an email to AFP that Prem Kumar was abducted while he was visiting a school in Sohadat village of Herat province.“He was abducted as he was about to return,” James Stapleton, the international communications coordinator of the Catholic organisation, said.
Kumar had been working in Afghanistan for the past four years, and held the post of country director.The kidnapping comes close on the heels of an attack on the Indian consulate in Herat on May 23 by four heavily armed gunmen who were later repelled by security forces.The consulate assault was the latest in a long line of attacks against Indian targets in Afghanistan.Nine civilians, including seven children, were killed in August last year when suicide bombers targeted the Indian consulate in the main eastern Afghan city of Jalalabad, detonating an explosives-packed car.India was one of the chief enemies of the hardline Taliban regime which ruled Afghanistan before its ouster in the wake of the September 11 attacks on New York and Washington.

SwamyG · Post by **SwamyG** » 03 Jun 2014 17:41

He is the India's director of Jesuit Refugee Services. Missionary activities?

Ashok Sarraff · Post by **Ashok Sarraff** » 03 Jun 2014 18:10

Yes sir. A few years ago some S. Korean converters were also kidnapped in Afg. and were freed after hefty ransom was paid.

rajithn · Post by **rajithn** » 03 Jun 2014 18:58

Ashok Sarraff wrote:Yes sir. A few years ago some S. Korean converters were also kidnapped in Afg. and were freed after hefty ransom was paid.

His real name is Alexis Prem Kumar. And yes, he was a missionary.

Prem · Post by **Prem** » 06 Jun 2014 23:46

http://www.dawn.com/news/1110983/afghan ... on-attempt

Afghan election front-runner Abdullah escapes assassination attempt

KABUL: Afghan presidential election front-runner Abdullah Abdullah said he had escaped an assassination attempt Friday when an explosion hit his campaign motorcade in Kabul, just days ahead of a hotly-contested run-off election.
“A few minutes ago, when we left a campaign rally our convoy was hit by a mine,” he told another election rally in quotes broadcast on Afghan television.
He added that some of his guards were mildly wounded, while he was unhurt.
The attempt came ahead of the second-round presidential election on June 14, with Taliban insurgents threatening to disrupt the polls.No one has so far claimed responsibility for the attack.Abdullah fell short of the 50 per cent threshold needed for an outright victory in the April first round and will face former World Bank economist Ashraf Ghani in the run-off.“We condemn the attack on respected presidential candidate Dr. Abdullah Abdullah,” Ghani said on Twitter.“This is the act of the enemies of Afghanistan to disrupt the democratic process in the country. “Those forces would be halved by the end of 2015 before eventually being reduced to a normal embassy presence with a security assistance component by the end of 2016. But it relies on Afghanistan signing a long-delayed Bilateral Security Agreement laying out the terms of the US military presence in the country after this year. The outgoing Karzai refuses to sign the pact, but both Afghan presidential candidates have vowed to sign it if elected.

KLNMurthy · Post by **KLNMurthy** » 06 Jun 2014 23:56

Rudradev wrote:Ashraf Ghani is a Pathan, a total pro-Paki stooge of the Vali Nasr variety, with a Shortcut Aziz style World Bank career and a Columbia University education behind him. Afghan RAPE equivalent par excellence. Needless to say he is being ptopped up by the Americans with both fists.

Bad news for India if he becomes President of Afghanistan.

Safer to avoid all ashrafs.

Prem · Post by **Prem** » 07 Jun 2014 02:42

Evolving Tactics

12 Taliban commanders hanged to death by masked men in Nuristan

KABUL- At least 12 local Taliban commanders have been executed by masked men, according to local authorities in Eastern Kunar province of Afghanistan.The officials are saying that the masked militants have recently increased to their insurgency activities in this province and their main target is to kill the local Taliban militants, according to Afghan journalists reports.Provincial governor, Hafiz Abdul Qayum, said the masked men hanged 12 Taliban commanders after they failed to disrupt the elections earlier in April. A video released by Afghan security institu12 Taliban commanders hanged to death by masked men in Nuristan tions show the masked men are hanging four local Taliban commanders. Local residents are also saying that the masked men cannot speak the local Dari and Pashtu languages and communicate with people through gestures. Nuristan is among the volatile provinces in eastern Afghanistan which shares border with the tribal region of Pakistan.

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 07 Jun 2014 05:51

I think the Taliban or rather ISI hanged them for incompetence in not disrupting the Afghan elections.
Was there a map of the area and the borders?

RoyG · Post by **RoyG** » 07 Jun 2014 07:05

rajithn wrote:
Ashok Sarraff wrote:Yes sir. A few years ago some S. Korean converters were also kidnapped in Afg. and were freed after hefty ransom was paid.
His real name is Alexis Prem Kumar. And yes, he was a missionary.

Bloody idiot is what he is. Now we might have to bail him out for trying to convert people into believing in a perverted cult. They will be emboldened after this to do it again.

chetak · Post by **chetak** » 07 Jun 2014 07:25

RoyG wrote:
rajithn wrote:
{quote="Ashok Sarraff"}Yes sir. A few years ago some S. Korean converters were also kidnapped in Afg. and were freed after hefty ransom was paid.{/quote}

His real name is Alexis Prem Kumar. And yes, he was a missionary.
Bloody idiot is what he is. Now we might have to bail him out for trying to convert people into believing in a perverted cult. They will be emboldened after this to do it again.

He was directly employed by a foreign religious entity for proselytisation in Afghanistan, surely against afghan laws.

How is the GOI responsible for his safety??

In future, if such foreign religious entities, purposely, increase their illegal activities using Indian cannon fodder, is the GOI expected to bail them out??

Samudragupta · Post by **Samudragupta** » 07 Jun 2014 17:36

ramana wrote:I think the Taliban or rather ISI hanged them for incompetence in not disrupting the Afghan elections.
Was there a map of the area and the borders?

I think that NDS have penetrated the Afghan Taliban with Pak Taliban...Not everything is under the control of Mullah Umar now....there are news of powerful Uzbek faction coming up on the area... in as much there is raging power struggle within the Taliban

anmol · Post by **anmol** » 08 Jun 2014 18:05

The ISI’s Great Game in Afghanistan
by Omer Aziz, thediplomat.com
June 8th 2014

On the evening of March 20, two teenagers entered the buffet area of the luxurious Serena Hotel in Kabul. The well-guarded establishment was a popular meeting place for politicians, diplomats, and journalists; a kind of refuge away from the danger constantly present in Kabul. Like the many guests assembled at the Serena this night, the two young men told security officials that they were visiting the hotel for dinner to celebrate the Afghan New Year. As guests filled their plates and live music echoed throughout the hall, the men entered the dining area and began wildly shooting, killing nine people before being killed by security. Among the dead were the noted Afghan journalist Sardar Ahmad, who was killed with this wife and two daughters, and Luis Maria Darte, a longtime Paraguyan diplomat and election observer.

Two days later, Afghan President Hamid Karzai released a statement saying the terrorist attack had been conducted “by an intelligence service outside this country.” Which entity did he have in mind? If there was any doubt, Karzai quickly put it to rest the following week in an interview he gave with an Indian television channel, when he said that terrorism was “nurtured” and “supported” in Pakistan, where the militants had their “ideological roots.”

For four decades, Pakistan’s spy-generals have played Afghanistan like a powerful chip in a consequential game of poker. They know the important local militants, have open channels to their favorite groups, and regularly play various groups against the Western coalition. The twin justifications for the aggressive intervention in Afghan affairs are India and American withdrawal. Since Pakistan’s humiliating dissection at Indian and nascent Bangladeshi hands in 1971, Islamabad’s doctrine vis-à-vis Afghanistan has been known as strategic depth. For the ISI, Afghanistan is to be a safety net should the delusional prediction that India will invade a weaker Pakistan actually come true.

A widespread view in Pakistan’s elite circles is that the U.S. will soon withdraw and leave the Afghan problem at Pakistan’s doorstep. I have been hearing a variant of this view for five years now. With U.S. President Barack Obama’s decision to leave 9,800 troops in Afghanistan through the end of 2014 and potentially leave zero troops after two years, it is apparent now that this view has not been unfounded. But Pakistan has wanted a vacuum in Afghanistan all along. A despoiled, anarchic vestige of a state to its east means that Pakistan can virtually control the territory, as it did through its various puppets in the 1980s and 1990s.

During the Soviet-Afghan War – during which American arms were shipped into Afghanistan through the ISI – Pakistani spymasters channeled funds and arms into the hands of their favorite militant groups, often the most retrogressive and extremist of the Mujahedeen. Leaders of some of these groups studied in Pakistani madrassas, a wellspring of indoctrination and militant thinking. By one estimate, the number of madrassas in Pakistan feeding the jihadists surged from 900 in 1971 to 32,000 in 1988. The ISI’s strategy at the time – and which remains its strategy today – can be summed up by what Pakistani dictator Zia ul-Haq told one of his generals: “Afghanistan must be made to boil at the right temperature.”

In the intervening period, Afghanistan has done more than boil. It has been flayed and seared by selfish American short-termism and poisonous, neocolonial Pakistani long-termism. As is well known, the Afghan Taliban were themselves a creation of the ISI, and a de facto proxy by the time they took over Kabul in 1996. In 1999, Benazir Bhutto’s minister of interior, Nasrullah Babar admitted it quite explicitly, pronouncing, “We created the Taliban.”

Today, the “Talban” are a hodgepodge of militant outfits, though the central leadership of the Afghan Taliban is thought to be in Quetta, Pakistan. For the ISI, there may be a chickens coming home to roost moment, as Pakistan faces a brutal insurgency within its own borders that has adopted the Taliban name but is in many ways far more rejectionist and hostile to the governing authorities. To give just one example, the Afghan Taliban support polio vaccination while the Pakistani Taliban vow to kill anyone offering such treatments. The ISI’s game of prolonging the post-9/11 insurgency in Afghanistan long enough for the tired American leviathan to pack up and go home – and for Pakistan to move in more forcefully – is the direct cause of this terrorist surge, which has taken over 50,000 lives. There are now three separate but interrelated insurgencies eating at the Pakistani state like overfed parasites: the sectarian Sunni jihad against Pakistan’s Shia population, the Balochi insurgency, and the gangsterism and religious extremism destroying Karachi. When exporting militancy is a state’s central foreign policy tool, it does not take long for the pawns to turn their guns on their masters.

According to a number of reports, the ISI – sometimes called a state within a state – operates a highly secretive, off-the-record “S Wing” that is used to support the various militant groups that have been central to Pakistani foreign policy. A report leaked in 2006 by the British Defense Ministry stated, “Indirectly Pakistan (through the ISI) has been supporting terrorism and extremism.” The report went so far as to link the ISI to the 2005 London bombings, in addition to the various insurgencies in Iraq and Afghanistan. A 2012 NATO study based on 27,000 interrogations of 4,000 captured Taliban and al-Qaeda fighters concluded that the ISI provided safe havens to the Taliban, monitored their movements, manipulated their fighters, and arrested those thought uncooperative.

Behind all this lies India, which had been an ardent supporter of the Northern Alliance and today has an active presence in Afghanistan. The threat of Indian encirclement of Pakistan via Afghanistan seems widely overblown. There are fewer than 3,600 Indians in Afghanistan – most of them businessmen – and just 10 Indian diplomatic officers. While there is considerable evidence of Indian support of Balochi separatists, the paranoid ISI view of India in Afghanistan ignores New Delhi’s vested interest in a stable and prosperous Afghanistan. It also ignores the centuries-old history between India and Afghanistan, and the erstwhile Indo-Afghan frontier. Afghanistan has received more than a billion dollars of Indian aid and, in 2009, celebrated the completion of the Zaranj-Delaram road, giving it better access to Iran. There is also the much-discussed animosity towards Pakistan by Karzai and by Pashtuns in general, who consider Islamabad an aggressive, prevaricating, double-dealing regime.

The unfortunate but crystalline reality of Afghanistan’s future is that it hinges on the decisions made by Pakistani generals and whether their actions will be checked by a Coalition response. This is not to suggest that Afghanistan’s future is lost. To recapitulate some recent victories: 7 million Afghans turned out to vote on April 5, thirty-five percent of them women. The Afghan election went forward despite threats from the Taliban and accusations of fraud. Voters jubilantly participated in the electoral process, thwarting attempts by militant groups who have violently opposed elections.

Regardless of who wins, however, Pakistan will be deeply involved in the internal workings of Afghanistan. It will be up to neighboring states and whatever remnant of the international community that is still engaged to ensure that over a decade of conflict and reconstruction does not conclude with a de facto takeover of Afghanistan by its neighbor across the Durand Line.

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 09 Jun 2014 23:19

Samudragupta wrote:
ramana wrote:I think the Taliban or rather ISI hanged them for incompetence in not disrupting the Afghan elections.
Was there a map of the area and the borders?
I think that NDS have penetrated the Afghan Taliban with Pak Taliban...Not everything is under the control of Mullah Umar now....there are news of powerful Uzbek faction coming up on the area... in as much there is raging power struggle within the Taliban

The Karachi Airport attack could be due to this factional struggle in TTP.

anupmisra · Post by **anupmisra** » 12 Jun 2014 01:19

Loy Pashtunistan. First time I have heard of it. Know anything about it? Here's a map that has a geographic description of the term. Includes Balochistan as well.

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 16 Jun 2014 14:38

Iraq holds ominouslesson for Afghanistan - AFP-JIJI

Afghans lining up at ballot boxes over the weekend could be forgiven for having some foreboding feelings about their country’s future amid the chaos now being unleashed in Iraq almost three years after U.S. troops withdrew.

While the political, ethnic and security situations in the two countries are vastly different, both nations have been at the center of U.S. wars, both are plagued by a homegrown insurgency and both still suffer from weak institutions vital to ensure stability and growth.

After months of hesitation, U.S. President Barack Obama has finally set a timeline for the withdrawal of the last U.S. troops from Afghanistan.

Come January 2017, the Afghan Army will be on its own militarily to face resilient Taliban militants, on the rise again after being routed from power by the U.S.-led invasion in 2001.

The hopes are that the Afghan forces will be stronger and more cohesive than their Iraqi counterparts, who last week — despite billions of dollars in training and equipment — melted away in the face of an onslaught by jihadists from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria.

But analysts warned the future for Afghanistan could be just as fraught with danger.

Many had believed “al-Qaida in Iraq, which is now rebranded as ISIS, had been decimated, defeated and decapitated by the (U.S. troop) surge,” said Bruce Riedel, a security expert with the Brookings Institution.

But he warned that “the very fast resurgence of al-Qaida in Iraq” after U.S. troops withdrew on Dec. 31, 2011, “bears an ominous parallel” for Afghanistan.{The brute forces which claim themselves as ISIS are more extreme than Al Qaeda and do not consider themselves as part of AQ after they split some time back}

Much of ISIS’s rise is attributed to the civil war in Syria, as well as the failure of the Iraqi leadership to heal sectarian divides.

“One lesson for Afghanistan is be ready for some kind of exogenous shock, understand that there are things elsewhere, beyond Afghanistan, that could make things turn the wrong direction,” said Christopher Chivvis, a senior political scientist with the RAND Corp.

A positive factor though is that both Afghan presidential hopefuls have said they will sign a deal with Washington to allow U.S. forces to stay.

Iraqi leaders refused any such pact, leading to an abrupt 2011 withdrawal.

Experts argued there is still time to step up the training of Afghan security forces, who have already begun building confidence and know-how by taking the lead on the ground.

“The Afghan National Army has been tested for the last year. It has been conducting more than 90 percent of combat operations and its track record is pretty good,” Riedel said.

Chivvis agreed military training must be a priority. But he warned against the “giant sucking sound” as international attention turns away from Afghanistan, which has less strategic value to the U.S. than Iraq.

“As the withdrawal approaches, there’s an acceleration of a decline in resources, a decline in interest and also a decline in cooperation both in the U.S. government and between international actors on the ground,” Chivvis said.

“They are no longer cooperating for the same common end. They’re trying to get out.”

U.S. officials have called for even greater political engagement to fill the vacuum, including efforts to boost a peace bid between Afghanistan and the Taliban.

While Afghans may heave a sigh of relief that U.S. troops are leaving their villages, many, especially women, fear a gradual return to some of the excesses of the harsh Taliban rule.

“The Obama administration may hope that Afghans will interpret the president’s decision as a vote of confidence in their institutions. It is far more likely, however, that they will interpret it as a signal of abandonment,” said Scott Smith from the United States Institute for Peace.

Riedel also voiced concerns that Obama’s “reckless” decision on the U.S. withdrawal had merely signaled to the insurgents that they just have to sit tight until late 2016.

For neighboring Pakistan — the Taliban government’s sole international backers — Obama’s announcement was an “enormous gift,” Riedel said.

“They now know when they can give their clients all the help they need to win the war. And they know they just need to wait until January 2017,” Riedel added.

member_23692 · Post by **member_23692** » 18 Jun 2014 18:40

While the world is focused on events in Iraq, and Indians still on the Modi high, this is what has happened in Afghanistan, all under the radar screen with hardly any media covering.

http://news.yahoo.com/afghan-candidate- ... 13151.html

Pakis successfully stole the Afghan "election". With US backing, no less.

Abdullah will never be president.

The last hope and prayer that India had for holding off Taliban off its own territory has faded.

This spells further disaster for India.

Paki have won yet another round against India.

Rabid India baiter former ISI Chief, mastermind of the entire Islamist operations in Af-Pak, Major General Hamid Gul must be receiving congratulatory phone calls from around the world. He scored again !

gunjur · Post by **gunjur** » 18 Jun 2014 20:34

rsangram wrote:While the world is focused on events in Iraq, and Indians still on the Modi high, this is what has happened in Afghanistan, all under the radar screen with hardly any media covering.

http://news.yahoo.com/afghan-candidate- ... 13151.html

Pakis successfully stole the Afghan "election". With US backing, no less.

Abdullah will never be president.

The last hope and prayer that India had for holding off Taliban off its own territory has faded.

This spells further disaster for India.

Paki have won yet another round against India.

Rabid India baiter former ISI Chief, mastermind of the entire Islamist operations in Af-Pak, Major General Hamid Gul must be receiving congratulatory phone calls from around the world. He scored again !

https://twitter.com/TOLOnews/status/479195856130691073

@TOLOnews : Breaking: Abdullah boycotted the election and pulled out all his observers from IEC.

https://twitter.com/TOLOnews/status/479196188718034944

@TOLOnews :Abdullah has suspended his ties with both electoral commissions and demand Amarkhel's suspension to resume cooperation with the IEC and ECC.

https://twitter.com/TOLOnews/status/479251326681882624

@TOLOnews :BREAKING: Afghan election chief Nuristani tells TOLOnews that vote-counting process continues with local and int'l observers overseeing it.

anmol · Post by **anmol** » 18 Jun 2014 21:01

Dem Rep.: Taliban Not Terrorists, 'Part of the Fabric of Afghanistan'

Democratic congresswoman Jackie Speier made an odd statement on MSNBC today, saying that it's not necessarily fair to refer to the Taliban as "terrorists," when in fact, they're more like "part of the fabric of Afghanistan." As she talked about the deal to swap Bowe Bergdahl for five Gitmo detainees, Speier felt it was important to "underscore the term 'terrorists.'"

She explained, "The Taliban is part of the fabric of Afghanistan. They were part of the leadership of that country before we engaged there." Speier said the U.S. is trying to get the Taliban to talk with the Afghan government because there has to be "some level of coordination between the two if that country is going to survive and move forward."

She concluded, "So to say that they are terrorists, at this point, is not necessarily accurate."

anmol · Post by **anmol** » 18 Jun 2014 21:32

http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-1 ... tion-Sethi

No US pressure for NWA action: Sethi
thenews.com.pk | Jun 16th 2014

LAHORE: Senior analyst Najam Sethi on Sunday said rooting out terrorism was a long-term project and Pakistan would have to eliminate its causes - poverty and the instructions given in seminaries that had no relation with Islam – in the next five to ten years.

Talking about various steps to make the Waziristan operation a success, he listed elimination of high value targets, capturing the terrorists after they scatter as a result of military action, successful prosecution of arrested people and organising their database according to intelligence to check their links as a must.

Answering various questions by Muneeb Farooq in Geo News programme ‘Aapas ki Baat’, Sethi added that it would also require a paradigm shift in the state policies that necessitated creation of non-state actors. But it would be a time-consuming exercise requiring a change in military’s thinking, strategy and mindset right from Kakul to the GHQ.

The armed forces must understand that they were many to ignite a clash between India and Pakistan but it didn’t mean that India was a perpetual enemy.

“There is nothing constant in the relations between two states.”According to Sethi, the government now has no justification to avoid action against terrorists, as media, the country’s second largest party and Sindh are supporting it on the issue, while the army was is ready for operation in North Waziristan.

Sethi said previously, the army was reluctant to conduct operation due the US pressure, as they were of the view that they would do so as per own their decision. It was despite the fact that the state institutions wanted to go for a military action for the last two year, but it could not happen because of various reasons.

The army was of the opinion that the government should own the operation, but it was not ready to do so. Both the PML-N and the PTI were in the opposition at that time and vocal against military action as they demanded dialogue.

According to Sethi, there is no unanimity of view even now just like the past. But the big difference is that Asif Ali Zardari and 90 per cent media are supporting Nawaz Sharif on the issue.

He described Chief of Army Staff Gen Raheel Sharif as a man of action and said there was no pressure by the US about the issue. Another reason that paved the way for Waziristan operation was that the government had utilised the option of dialogue which remained unfruitful. During the period, the Taliban reorganised themselves and did not give any concession. Hence, the door had now opened to carry the operation

The senior analyst said Dr Abdullah Abdullah would be the next Afghan president and Pakistan had already started negotiations with him – meaning that Pakistan had accepted that the next main force in Afghanistan would be non-Pashtun. Therefore, it had been decided that any damage to the Haqqani network and the Afghan Taliban wasn’t bad and they should return to their country, as a stable Afghanistan was in Pakistan’s interest.

According to Sethi, Pakistan will try to persuade Mullah Omar and Haqqani network for talks and get them accommodated. It’s the reason that why the decision has made to act against those damaging the Pakistani state.

The allegation that the military action is aimed at getting the US dollars would be levelled but Pakistan has to do it. The PTI are also raising doubts about the army, a thing that they must ashamed of. The PTI must forget politics and unite with the people and the army.

He said there would be a reaction to the military action, but it had to be faced. No war could be won without media’s support. Therefore, media would have to be taken into confidence. But at the same time, media must avoid raising unnecessary controversies. It was not the time for ratings.

About Geo, Sethi said, “Let Geo be back on air and play its national role as a patriotic force. Let it demonstrate is patriotism.” The army should now accommodate Geo and give it a chance.

The divide in media was very unfortunate as “we need to have all the media hands on the deck.”Sethi said the situation demanded media to unite instead of resorting to infightingHe also requested the prime minister to use money for the power projects but stop massive road building and other ventures for a year and utilise the funds on poverty alleviation and internally displaced persons.

According to Sethi, it is not the time to destabilise an elected government and talk about mid-term polls, as the war demands unity. Pervez Musharraf’s issue should also be disposed of, as it is causing misunderstand between the government and the army.

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 18 Jun 2014 22:17

anmol wrote:
Dem Rep.: Taliban Not Terrorists, 'Part of the Fabric of Afghanistan'

Democratic congresswoman Jackie Speier made an odd statement on MSNBC today, saying that it's not necessarily fair to refer to the Taliban as "terrorists," when in fact, they're more like "part of the fabric of Afghanistan." As she talked about the deal to swap Bowe Bergdahl for five Gitmo detainees, Speier felt it was important to "underscore the term 'terrorists.'"

She explained, "The Taliban is part of the fabric of Afghanistan. They were part of the leadership of that country before we engaged there." Speier said the U.S. is trying to get the Taliban to talk with the Afghan government because there has to be "some level of coordination between the two if that country is going to survive and move forward."

She concluded, "So to say that they are terrorists, at this point, is not necessarily accurate."

Something wrong in SF Bay Area Democrats. Most of them are now Paki friendly.
Could be effect of TIE tieups filled with morons.

muraliravi · Post by **muraliravi** » 19 Jun 2014 01:17

I think the game in Afghanistan is over. Abdullah is gone. Pakis have rigged the election in favor of ghani. Bad bad news for India.

Atri · Post by **Atri** » 19 Jun 2014 02:07

muraliravi wrote:I think the game in Afghanistan is over. Abdullah is gone. Pakis have rigged the election in favor of ghani. Bad bad news for India.

It was never in our favor. Its like a guy loving a girl (girl loves guy equally, lets assume). But guy cannot reach girl's home to ask her in marriage - whats the use of such pyar-mohobbat, hain ji? The afghan mehbooba of India has always been out of bounds to India till STFUp army exists. No matter how much she loves Bharatkumar, she will eventually marry her first cousin the beggar and gaandu abdul who can physically access her (i.e. Paki munna of China and Unkil). As they say in dehaati - Kabjaa sachchaa jhagDaa jhooTha (physical possession matters, rest of the claims etc are immaterial onlee). In dharmaarthik matters, this is eternal truth. rest is theory only.

ISIS in Iraq and return of taliban in Af-Pak will begin the third phase of the great game : fak-ap. Right now pak-af going on in its earnest.

member_23692 · Post by **member_23692** » 20 Jun 2014 06:38

Atri wrote:
muraliravi wrote:I think the game in Afghanistan is over. Abdullah is gone. Pakis have rigged the election in favor of ghani. Bad bad news for India.
It was never in our favor. Its like a guy loving a girl (girl loves guy equally, lets assume). But guy cannot reach girl's home to ask her in marriage - whats the use of such pyar-mohobbat, hain ji? The afghan mehbooba of India has always been out of bounds to India till STFUp army exists. No matter how much she loves Bharatkumar, she will eventually marry her first cousin the beggar and gaandu abdul who can physically access her (i.e. Paki munna of China and Unkil). As they say in dehaati - Kabjaa sachchaa jhagDaa jhooTha (physical possession matters, rest of the claims etc are immaterial onlee). In dharmaarthik matters, this is eternal truth. rest is theory only.

ISIS in Iraq and return of taliban in Af-Pak will begin the third phase of the great game : fak-ap. Right now pak-af going on in its earnest.

If we had no chance in Afg, why did we spend 13 billion or however many billions we spent there ? Has our own (Indian) infrastructure become too good or our GDP become too great or there are no hungry people left in India anymore or do we have too much embarrassment of riches ? Wait, it was our tax paying public which was clamoring for this multi-billion dollar payout in exchange for what ? a bad one night stand at best and cruelly raising some false hopes at worst

member_25399 · Post by **member_25399** » 20 Jun 2014 11:16

^^^^
And this is what we get by remaining politically neutral. If we need to protect out interests, than start taking sides, or get run over.
Babus in MoE neither have the will nor the guts for that.

KLNMurthy · Post by **KLNMurthy** » 20 Jun 2014 11:30

Gunjur wrote:
rsangram wrote:While the world is focused on events in Iraq, and Indians still on the Modi high, this is what has happened in Afghanistan, all under the radar screen with hardly any media covering.

http://news.yahoo.com/afghan-candidate- ... 13151.html

Pakis successfully stole the Afghan "election". With US backing, no less.

Abdullah will never be president.

The last hope and prayer that India had for holding off Taliban off its own territory has faded.

This spells further disaster for India.

Paki have won yet another round against India.

Rabid India baiter former ISI Chief, mastermind of the entire Islamist operations in Af-Pak, Major General Hamid Gul must be receiving congratulatory phone calls from around the world. He scored again !
https://twitter.com/TOLOnews/status/479195856130691073
@TOLOnews : Breaking: Abdullah boycotted the election and pulled out all his observers from IEC.
https://twitter.com/TOLOnews/status/479196188718034944
@TOLOnews :Abdullah has suspended his ties with both electoral commissions and demand Amarkhel's suspension to resume cooperation with the IEC and ECC.
https://twitter.com/TOLOnews/status/479251326681882624
@TOLOnews :BREAKING: Afghan election chief Nuristani tells TOLOnews that vote-counting process continues with local and int'l observers overseeing it.

This is the second time that Abdullah did something like this--coming so close and then pulling out in a pique. Maybe he doesn't really want to be president and prefers to criticize from outside? A bit like our own Kejriwal?