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Govt. to Divide and Sell Kabul Bank
04/23/2011
Kabul - Afghanistan’s government will divide and sell the country’s biggest bank, which collapsed last year from losses on loans to its owners, including brothers of President Hamid Karzai and his vice president.
A government commission will take more than $570 million in fraudulent loans from Kabul Bank before the rest of the company is offered for sale, central bank Governor Abdul Qadeer Fitrat told reporters yesterday. He declined to say whether the plan had support from the International Monetary Fund, which has withheld ...
Pepsi Moves into Afghanistan
04/23/2011
DUBAI - PepsiCo "signed an Exclusive Bottling Appointment with the Alokozay Group of Companies to manufacture and distribute a broad range of PepsiCo beverages in Afghanistan," the statement said. "The beverages will be produced at ABCo (Alokozay Beverages Company), Alokozay's beverage bottling plant, which will be set up in ...
US Committed to 2014 Transition in Afghanistan: Clinton
04/23/2011
WASHINGTON - US and its NATO partners are committed to the 2014 transition in Afghanistan, even though a "lot of work" needs to be done to facilitate greater security and political reconciliation, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said.
"We are committed to the NATO transition as agreed at the ...
Taliban May Be ‘Driven Out’ of Afghanistan By End of 2011: Gates
04/23/2011
WASHINGTON - A U.S.-led international coalition in Afghanistan may "turn a corner" in its decade-long war against Taliban as early as at the end of the year, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates has said. "My own view is that this year is a critical year," the Pentagon chief told journalists in Washington on ...
NATO to Give ASF $10b Equipment Till 2014
04/21/2011
KABUL - NATO will donate weapons, vehicles and airplanes worth more than $10 billion (458.1 billion Afghanis) to Afghan Security Forces (ASF) till 2014, an official of the Western military alliance announced on Wednesday.
Weapons and equipment would be provided to 305,000 Afghan security forces, a spokesman for the International...
Tough Year Ahead: Mullen
04/21/2011
WASHINGTON - Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, said that the U.S. military is bracing for a tough year in Afghanistan with potentially significant losses.
Mullen made the comments as he visited U.S. bases in Afghanistan, according to the American Forces Press Service affiliated with...
Taliban Planning Afghan Summer ‘Spectaculars’
04/21/2011
KABUL - The Taliban are likely to use "large-scale, spectacular attacks" to try to Destabilize the transition process in Afghanistan once the fighting season begins this summer, British military commanders have warned.
They are expecting a change of tactics as insurgents try to regain ground lost...
Accord on Prisoner Swap with Iran Likely
04/21/2011
Iran Concerned at Afghan-US Strategic Ties
KABUL - Tehran has been given for perusal a draft agreement on swapping prisoners, the deputy foreign minister said on Wednesday.
Iran is concerned about strategic cooperation between Afghanistan and the United States, but Kabul desires friendly relations with all neighboring countries,...
KB Partly Affiliated to Finance Ministry
04/21/2011
KABUL - A portion of the Kabul Bank (KB), Afghanistan's largest private-sector bank, has been affiliated to the Ministry of Finance, a senior official announced on Wednesday. A safe part of the nation's biggest lender was taken over by the Department of Treasury at the ministry, Da Afghanistan Bank Governor Abdul Qadeer Fitrat told reporters in...
NATO Intensively Discussed Afghanistan at Meeting
04/21/2011
WASHINGTON - Afghanistan was intensively discussed at a recent NATO ministerial meeting in Berlin, where member nations expressed broad support for intensifying diplomatic surge for an Afghan-led political settlement, a top US official said.
"On Afghanistan, allies affirmed the transition principles and expressed broad support for intensifying what we've been calling the diplomatic...
Afghan Army Reviewing Recruitment After Attack
04/21/2011
KABUL - The Afghan army is reviewing recruitment after several high profile attacks by assailants in Afghan security force uniforms, including one inside the Defense Ministry this week, a ministry spokesman said on Wednesday. Defense Ministry spokesman Zaher Azimy said the man who penetrated the army's nerve centre was actually an insurgent disguised in an army uniform, but suggested collaborators within the army could have helped him get access to...
Afghanistan Loses $75bn from its Waters Each Year
04/20/2011
KABUL - Afghanistan has been unable to control its waters and presently more than 70% of its waters flow into neighbors without any benefit, senators say.
A number of senators accuse some circles within the government framework over disrupting water controlling program.
"The government should bring water sources under its control so that our waters no longer flow into neighboring countries freely and with no charge," Hedayatullah Rahayee, an Afghan...
Karzai Challenges US Group on Civilian Deaths
04/20/2011
KABUL - Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Tuesday urged a high-level visiting US delegation to scale back night raids and military operations causing civilian casualties.
The call came as he met John Boehner, US House Speaker, who is leading a six-member delegation from the House of Representatives which also visited Pakistan this...
Pentagon Clears Gen McChrystal of Wrongdoing
04/20/2011
WASHINGTON - Former commander of US and NATO forces in Afghanistan, Gen. Stanley McChrystal, who was sacked last year after the publication of an article in the Rolling Stone magazine, has been cleared of any wrongdoing.
A Pentagon investigation, whose report was made public on Monday, disputed the accuracy of the article, in which McChrystal made derogatory remarks against US President Barack Obama, and other top officials of hi...
Senators Ask Defense Officials to Quit
04/20/2011
KABUL - Some members of the Meshrano Jirga, upper house of Parliament, asked senior defense ministry officials on Tuesday to stand down for their failure to prevent Monday's attack on the ministry.
A suicide attacker in an army uniform entered the defense ministry in Kabul, and killed two soldiers and wounded seven...
Logar Residents Rally Against Governor
04/20/2011
KABUL - A number of residents of central Logar province rallied in Kabul against the governor on Tuesday, accusing the provincial chief executive of corruption. However, Governor Attiqullah Lodin said the protesters had "personal and regional" problems with him and were involved in grabbing state land. More than 100 protesters,....
Mullen Cites Pakistani Cooperation in Afghanistan
04/20/2011
KABUL - Cooperation between U.S. and Pakistani soldiers on both sides of the Afghanistan-Pakistan border is better than it has ever been, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said Tuesday. Navy Adm. Mike Mullen told reporters traveling with him to Afghanistan and Pakistan that the Pakistani military knows the threat the Haqqani network poses in Afghanistan, but that their first focus is on the Pakistani Taliban that ...
Taliban Attack Defense Ministry
04/19/2011
KABUL - Some suicide attackers, wearing military uniforms, sneaked into the defense ministry building in the heavily-fortified Afghan capital city, killing two Afghan soldiers and wounding seven others, an official said on Monday.
One of the attackers in a military uniform blew himself up and killed two Afghan soldiers and ...
Afghan Mines Conference to Open in London
04/19/2011
KABUL - A big conference on Afghan mines is due to open this year in London that will be attended by key investors of the world, mines officials said.
Officials said the conference due on June this year will focus on four huge mines, including fuel, lithium, gold and copper.
"Afghan government in cooperation with Britain will call in a huge conference on...
Agreement Reached with IMF on Kabul Bank: Zakhilwal
04/19/2011
WASHINGTON - Afghanistan has reached an agreement with the International Monetary Fund on majority of contentious issues, with only a few irritants left to seal the deal, Minister of Finance Hazrat Omar Zakhilwal said on Monday.
"We had substantial, result-oriented and comprehensive discussions with IMF and the World Bank," Zakhilwal told Pajhwok Afghan News...
Thinley Meets Vice Presidents, Discusses Ties
04/19/2011
KABUL - Bhutanese Prime Minister Jigmi Y. Thinley, who arrived in Kabul on Sunday, met with President Hamid Karzai and his two deputies for talks over bilateral relations, a presidential statement said on Monday.
Thinley, who is also chairman of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) for the year, stressed the need for improved...
Iran Sets March 2012 for Parliamentary Election
04/18/2011
TEHRAN, Iran – Iran's official news agency says parliamentary elections have been set for next March. The report Sunday by IRNA quotes Interior Minister Mostafa Mohammad Najjar as saying the voting will take place March 2, 2012.
Plans for the election could be a springboard for protests by Iran's opposition after
Operator Airs Plan to Control Japan Nuclear Crisis
04/18/2011
TOKYO – The operator of Japan's crippled nuclear plant laid out a blueprint Sunday for stopping radiation leaks and stabilizing damaged reactors within the next six to nine months as a first step toward allowing some of the tens of thousands of evacuees to return to the area.
While the government said the timeframe was realistic, those forced to flee their homes, jobs and farms were frustrated that their exile is not going
Turkish Investors to Invest in Afghan Mines
04/18/2011
KABUL - Turkish investors have shown interest to invest in Afghan mines, mines minister said on Sunday.
More than 25 Turkish investors are presently in Kabul looking into ways to invest in mines in particular in copper deposits and oil fields.
Turkey is one of the biggest industrial countries and has long cooperated with the Afghan government to build fundamentals and improve social life.
"They are...
Jirga Draws Mixed Reaction from Senators
04/18/2011
KABUL - Some Upper House members on Sunday said convening a traditional Jirga to decide on a key national issue was against the constitution, but others insisted the president had the right to consult elders on key questions.
President Hamid Karzai on Monday (April 11) said his government would convene a Loya Jirga in two to three months to take a decision on signing an agreement on strategic relations with the US.
"The US presented a draft document (on strategic partnership) two weeks ago and the document is
French DM to Meet Troops, Authorities in Afghanistan
04/18/2011
PARIS - French Defense Minister Gerard Longuet has flown to Afghanistan on a previously unannounced visit to meet with his nation's troops and Afghan leaders.
The Defence Ministry announced his arrival in Afghanistan on Sunday, saying he was visiting a military hospital and a detachment of French helicopters. He is to meet with French soldiers at
Rasoul Off to Berlin for NATO Ministerial Meeting
04/15/2011
KABUL - Foreign Minister Dr. Zalmai Rasoul on Wednesday left for Germany to attend a three-day NATO ministerial meeting in Berlin, the foreign ministry in Kabul said.
Foreign ministers from NATO and partner countries will meet in the German
Pakistan PM Due in Kabul on Saturday
04/15/2011
ISLAMABAD - Pakistani Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani is to pay a one-day visit to Kabul on Saturday, officials said on Wednesday. Gilani would hold wide-ranging talks with Afghan President Hamid Karzai, a spokesman for the Prime Minister's House, Zafaryab Khan, told reporters.
During...
Karzai Allowed Reintroducing Rejected Nominees
04/15/2011
KABUL- A majority of Wolesi Jirga members on Wednesday agreed to amend rules of business to allow President Hamid Karzai to reintroduce rejected ministers-designate for a vote of confidence.
Since his reelection in the 2009 presidential vote, Karzai had introduced his picks for the 25-minister Cabinet in three phases, but only 19
Afghan Forces Ready for Security Transition: Azimi
04/15/2011
KABUL - Afghan forces were ready to take over the security responsibility from foreign troops if the international community honored its commitments to the Afghan government, a senior defense official said on Wednesday.
The proposed transition would be irreversible because Afghan forces were capable of
U.S. Aims to End Combat Mission in Afghanistan By 2015
04/15/2011
WASHINGTON - The United States will continue to regulate Afghanistan's security and development issues even after halting its combat mission in 2015, a U.S. official said here on Wednesday.
Robert Blake, the assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs, said
Presidents of Pakistan, Turkey Support Efforts to End Afghan War
04/15/2011
ANKARA - The presidents of Turkey and Pakistan said Wednesday they would support initiatives designed to end the war in Afghanistan, but they declined to confirm that a plan is under way to open a political office for Taliban in Turkey to promote peace