Obama Limits When U.S. Would Use Nuclear Arms

By DAVID E. SANGER and PETER BAKER
New York Times
WASHINGTON — President Obama said Monday that he was revamping American nuclear strategy to substantially narrow the conditions under which the United States would use nuclear weapons.

But the president said in an interview that he was carving out an exception for “outliers like Iran and North Korea” that have violated or renounced the main treaty to halt nuclear proliferation.

Discussing his approach to nuclear security the day before formally releasing his new strategy, Mr. Obama described his policy as part of a broader effort to edge the world toward making nuclear weapons obsolete, and to create incentives for countries to give up any nuclear ambitions. To set an example, the new strategy renounces the development of any new nuclear weapons, overruling the initial position of his own defense secretary.

Mr. Obama’s strategy is a sharp shift from those of his predecessors and seeks to revamp the nation’s nuclear posture for a new age in which rogue states and terrorist organizations are greater threats than traditional powers like Russia and China.

It eliminates much of the ambiguity that has deliberately existed in American nuclear policy since the opening days of the cold war. For the first time, the United States is explicitly committing not to use nuclear weapons against nonnuclear states that are in compliance with the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, even if they attacked the United States with biological or chemical weapons or launched a crippling cyberattack.

Those threats, Mr. Obama argued, could be deterred with “a series of graded options,” a combination of old and new conventional weapons. “I’m going to preserve all the tools that are necessary in order to make sure that the American people are safe and secure,” he said in the interview in the Oval Office.

White House officials said the new strategy would include the option of reconsidering the use of nuclear retaliation against a biological attack, if the development of such weapons reached a level that made the United States vulnerable to a devastating strike.

Mr. Obama’s new strategy is bound to be controversial, both among conservatives who have warned against diluting the United States’ most potent deterrent and among liberals who were hoping for a blanket statement that the country would never be the first to use nuclear weapons.

Mr. Obama argued for a slower course, saying, “We are going to want to make sure that we can continue to move towards less emphasis on nuclear weapons,” and, he added, to “make sure that our conventional weapons capability is an effective deterrent in all but the most extreme circumstances.”

The release of the new strategy, known as the Nuclear Posture Review, opens an intensive nine days of nuclear diplomacy geared toward reducing weapons. Mr. Obama plans to fly to Prague to sign a new arms-control agreement with Russia on Thursday and then next week will host 47 world leaders in Washington for a summit meeting on nuclear security.

The most immediate test of the new strategy is likely to be in dealing with Iran, which has defied the international community by developing a nuclear program that it insists is peaceful but that the United States and its allies say is a precursor to weapons. Asked about the escalating confrontation with Iran, Mr. Obama said he was now convinced that “the current course they’re on would provide them with nuclear weapons capabilities,” though he gave no timeline.

He dodged when asked whether he shared Israel’s view that a “nuclear capable” Iran was as dangerous as one that actually possessed weapons.

“I’m not going to parse that right now,” he said, sitting in his office as children played on the South Lawn of the White House at a daylong Easter egg roll. But he cited the example of North Korea, whose nuclear capabilities were unclear until it conducted a test in 2006, which it followed with a second shortly after Mr. Obama took office.

“I think it’s safe to say that there was a time when North Korea was said to be simply a nuclear-capable state until it kicked out the I.A.E.A. and become a self-professed nuclear state,” he said, referring to the International Atomic Energy Agency. “And so rather than splitting hairs on this, I think that the international community has a strong sense of what it means to pursue civilian nuclear energy for peaceful purposes versus a weaponizing capability.”

Mr. Obama said he wanted a new United Nations sanctions resolution against Iran “that has bite,” but he would not embrace the phrase “crippling sanctions” once used by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. And he acknowledged the limitations of United Nations action. “We’re not naïve that any single set of sanctions automatically is going to change Iranian behavior,” he said, adding “there’s no light switch in this process.”

In the year since Mr. Obama gave a speech in Prague declaring that he would shift the policy of the United States toward the elimination of nuclear weapons, his staff has been meeting — and arguing — over how to turn that commitment into a workable policy, without undermining the credibility of the country’s nuclear deterrent.

The strategy to be released on Tuesday is months late, partly because Mr. Obama had to adjudicate among advisers who feared he was not changing American policy significantly enough, and those who feared that anything too precipitous could embolden potential adversaries. One senior official said that the new strategy was the product of 150 meetings, including 30 convened by the White House National Security Council, and that even then Mr. Obama had to step in to order rewrites.

He ended up with a document that differed considerably from the one President George W. Bush published in early 2002, just three months after the Sept. 11 attacks. Mr. Bush, too, argued for a post-cold-war rethinking of nuclear deterrence, reducing American reliance on those weapons.

But Mr. Bush’s document also reserved the right to use nuclear weapons “to deter a wide range of threats,” including banned chemical and biological weapons and large-scale conventional attacks. Mr. Obama’s strategy abandons that option — except if the attack is by a nuclear state, or a nonsignatory or violator of the nonproliferation treaty.

The document to be released Tuesday after months of study led by the Defense Department will declare that “the fundamental role” of nuclear weapons is to deter nuclear attacks on the United States, allies or partners, a narrower presumption than the past. But Mr. Obama rejected the formulation sought by arms control advocates to declare that the “sole role” of nuclear weapons is to deter a nuclear attack.

There are five declared nuclear states — the United States, Britain, France, Russia and China. Three states with nuclear weapons have refused to sign — India, Pakistan and Israel — and North Korea renounced the treaty in 2003. Iran remains a signatory, but the United Nations Security Council has repeatedly found it in violation of its obligations, because it has hidden nuclear plants and refused to answer questions about evidence it was working on a warhead.

In shifting the nuclear deterrent toward combating proliferation and the sale or transfer of nuclear material to terrorists or nonnuclear states, Mr. Obama seized on language developed in the last years of the Bush administration. It had warned North Korea that it would be held “fully accountable” for any transfer of weapons or technology. But the next year, North Korea was caught aiding Syria in building a nuclear reactor but suffered no specific consequence.

Mr. Obama was asked whether the American failure to make North Korea pay a heavy price for the aid to Syria undercut Washington’s credibility.

“I don’t think countries around the world are interested in testing our credibility when it comes to these issues,” he said. He said such activity would leave a country vulnerable to a nuclear strike, and added, “We take that very seriously because we think that set of threats present the most serious security challenge to the United States.”

He indicated that he hoped to use this week’s treaty signing with Russia as a stepping stone toward more ambitious reductions in nuclear arsenals down the road, but suggested that would have to extend beyond the old paradigm of Russian-American relations.

“We are going to pursue opportunities for further reductions in our nuclear posture, working in tandem with Russia but also working in tandem with NATO as a whole,” he said.

An obvious such issue would be the estimated 200 tactical nuclear weapons the United States still has stationed in Western Europe. Russia has called for their removal, and there is growing interest among European nations in such a move as well. But Mr. Obama said he wanted to consult with NATO allies before making such a commitment.

The summit meeting that opens next week in Washington will bring together nearly four dozen world leaders, the largest such gathering by an American president since the founding of the United Nations 65 years ago. Mr. Obama said he hoped to use the session to lay down tangible commitments by individual countries toward his goal of securing the world’s nuclear material so it does not fall into the hands of terrorists or dangerous states.

“Our expectation is not that there’s just some vague, gauzy statement about us not wanting to see loose nuclear materials,” he said. “We anticipate a communiqué that spells out very clearly, here’s how we’re going to achieve locking down all the nuclear materials over the next four years.”

Zardari eyeing history, wants bill passed soon

ISLAMABAD: Despite prophets of doom, President Asif Ali Zardari on Monday saw himself on the verge of a place in history, for which he asked parliament to make no delay in passing proposed constitutional reforms that will take some of his key powers to empower itself and restore a genuine parliamentary democracy.
In his third address to a joint sitting of the National Assembly and Senate in one-and-a-half years of his presidency, he called himself custodian of the legacy of executed former prime minister and his father-in-law Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and assassinated wife Benazir Bhutto with “my eyes on history.”

“By standing in their shadows today and empowering the parliament, I hope to walk into the annals of history, InshaAllah,” the president said, referring to landmark constitutional amendments proposed by an all-parties parliamentary committee led by his ruling PPP and due to be taken up as the Constitution (Eighteenth Amendment) Bill by the two houses during their new sessions beginning on Tuesday.

“I call upon the parliament to pass the eighteenth constitutional amendment bill without delay,” he said about the draft that, besides other things, seeks to clip the presidency of some of the usually prime ministerial powers arbitrarily assumed by former president Pervez Musharraf such as dissolution of the National Assembly and appointment of armed forces’ chiefs and provincial governors and to enhance provincial autonomy.

The implementation of these reforms — part of a 2006 Charter of Democracy signed by Benazir Bhutto and PML-N leader Nawaz Sharif — would make Mr Zardari the first Pakistani president to willingly surrender powers to parliament to become a figurehead after widespread skepticism of critics about whether he would let it happen and waves of what his party sees as inspired adverse speculations about his political future.

“The people of Pakistan are keenly watching and waiting for this crucial reforms bill to pass,” said the president, who has often rejected such speculations and who seemed referring to his troubles with two previous regimes by recalling in his speech his own one-time remark that “I have walked from the gallows to the presidency. This initiative must lead to new beginnings.”

Mr Zardari’s 25-minute speech was repeatedly cheered by desk-thumping by members of the PPP and its allies though some opposition figures, such as PML-N’s opposition leader in the National Assembly Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan and PML-Q’s opposition leader in the Senate Wasim Sajjad, seemed unmoved even when the president repeatedly referred to a collective success in formulating the constitutional reforms during nine months of hard work by the 26-member parliamentary committee headed by PPP Senator Raza Rabbani.

“There were anxious moments when some people feared that we had failed,” he noted and said: “But collectively we were able to resolve differences, making history by restoring the 1973 Constitution, and more.”

The sitting was chaired by National Assembly Speaker Fehmida Mirza, whom the president congratulated as the first woman speaker in the Muslim world to preside over such historic changes. The guests in the galleries included armed forces’ chiefs, provincial governors and heads of diplomatic missions in Islamabad.

The president cited the consensus on constitutional reforms, fight against militancy, a reforms package for Balochistan and a new National Finance Commission award as the most important achievement under the PPP-led coalition government — though he said the constitutional package was “not a favour to anyone” but a national duty for which he congratulated all parties in parliament for rising “above partisan politics in an unprecedented show of national solidarity.”

He recalled Pakistan’s history of subversions of the Constitution such as by military coups of 1977 and 1999 that toppled then prime ministers Zulfikar Ali Bhutto — who was later executed — and Nawaz Sharif respectively, and “sadder still” validations by the “pillars of the state,” and, in reference to the amendments, said: “The nation can take pride that it has closed that sorry chapter.”

But he acknowledged difficulties in tackling economic problems with rising prices and squeezed incomes and power and water shortages.

Fight To The Finish

Calling militancy and extremism the “greatest threat to our national security in recent times,” he said: “I assure you we will fight to the finish.”

He reiterated the government’s policy to make peace with those willing to give up violence and use force against those challenging the writ of the state and said: “I assure you that the sovereignty of Pakistan has been protected and solemnly pledge that it will be safeguarded at all costs.”

Among some planned measures, the president said reforms for Fata and amendments to the British-era Frontier Crimes Regulations for the area had been finalised after consultation with “stakeholders” and “will be soon implemented.”

Also, modalities of giving overseas Pakistanis the right to vote in national elections “will soon be finalized,” he said.

Foreign Relations

The president said Pakistan sought a stable regional environment, with ties with China remaining “the bedrock of our foreign policy,” and would give strong support for an “Afghan-led reconciliation and reconstruction process” in Afghanistan.

He said Pakistan considered it essential to normalise relations with India and wanted an honourable and peaceful settlement of outstanding disputes, including the water issue and the “core issue of Jammu and Kashmir”, and sought no arms race though “a disproportionate increase in military budget by the largest democracy does not help the cause of arms reduction.”

“We greatly value our relations with all Muslim countries and will continue to strive for enhanced ties with them,” he said.

The president said partnership with the United States and Europe had strengthened over the past year “in sharp contrast to the isolation we inherited,” adding that the strategic dialogue with Washington was aimed at “addressing core issues of Pakistan,” while he welcomed President Barack Obama’s “new initiatives towards Pakistan.”

Karzai’s Words Leave Few Choices for the West

NEW YORK TIMES
KABUL, Afghanistan — As President Hamid Karzai made more antagonistic statements over the weekend toward the NATO countries fighting on behalf of his government, the West was taking stock of just how little maneuvering room it has.There are no good options on the horizon, many analysts say, for reining in Mr. Karzai or for penalizing him, without potentially damaging Western interests. The reluctant conclusion of diplomats and Afghan analysts is that for now, they are stuck with him. Many fear the relationship is only likely to become worse, as Mr. Karzai draws closer to allies like Iran and China, whose interests are often at odds with those of the West, and sounds sympathetic enough to the Taliban that he could spur their efforts, helping their recruitment and further destabilizing the country.
“The political situation is continuing to deteriorate; Karzai is flailing around,” said a Western diplomat in Kabul with long experience in the region. “At the moment we are propping up an unstable political structure, and I haven’t seen any remotely plausible plan for building consensus.”
The tensions between the West and Mr. Karzai flared up publicly last Thursday, when Mr. Karzai accused the West and the United Nations of perpetrating fraud in the August presidential election and described the Western military coalition as coming close to being seen as invaders who would give the insurgency legitimacy as “a national resistance.”
Despite a conciliatory phone call to Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Friday, his comments over the weekend only expanded the discord.
On Saturday, Mr. Karzai met with about 60 members of Parliament, mostly his supporters, and berated them for having rejected his proposed new election law. Among other things, the proposal would have given him the power to appoint all the members of the Electoral Complaints Commission, who are currently appointed by the United Nations, the Afghan Supreme Court and the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission. The Electoral Complaints Commission, which reviews allegations of voting fraud and irregularities, documented the fraud that deprived Mr. Karzai of an outright victory in the presidential election.At the meeting, Mr. Karzai stepped up his anti-Western statements, according to a Parliament member who attended but spoke on condition of anonymity.“If you and the international community pressure me more, I swear that I am going to join the Taliban,” Mr. Karzai said, according to the Parliament member.
A spokesman for Mr. Karzai, Waheed Omar, could not be reached for comment on Sunday.
In a speech in Kandahar on Sunday, Mr. Karzai promised local tribal elders that coalition military operations planned for the area this summer would not proceed without their approval.“I know you are worried about this operation,” he said, adding: “There will be no operation until you are happy.”
Given his tone in the last few days, it was unclear whether he was literally extending the elders veto power over the offensive, or merely trying to quell their fears and bring them on board.
Interviews with diplomats, Afghan analysts and ordinary Afghans suggest that the United States and other Western countries have three options: threaten to withdraw troops or actually withdraw them; use diplomacy, which so far has had little result; and find ways to expand citizen participation in the government, which now has hardly any elected positions at the provincial and district levels.
Threatening to withdraw, which Stephen Biddle, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, called the “nuclear deterrent” option, would put the United States and other Western countries in the position of potentially having to make good on the promise, risking their strategic interest in a stable Afghanistan. Few experts think the country would remain peaceful without a significant foreign force here. Moreover, withdrawal could open the way for the country to again become a terrorist haven.Some Western critics of Mr. Karzai believe that the West has no choice but to threaten to leave.“There is no point in having troops in a mission that cannot be accomplished,” said Peter W. Galbraith, former United Nations deputy special representative for Afghanistan, who was dismissed after a dispute with his superiors over how to handle widespread electoral fraud and what senior U.N. officials later said was his advocacy of Mr. Karzai's removal. “The mission might be important, but if it can’t be achieved, there is no point in sending these troops into battle. Part of the problem is that counterinsurgency requires a credible local partner.” Diplomacy has so far failed to achieve substantial changes, although some analysts, like Mr. Biddle, who opposes the so-called nuclear option, believe that the West should demand concessions before spending any more money on development projects like digging wells and building schools.“We do millions of things in Afghanistan, and any of those things can become a source of leverage,” he said. “Far too much of what we do in Afghanistan we just do without asking for anything explicit in return.”That approach can backfire, some argue, hurting those the West most wants to help.
Greater power sharing, while promising, faces structural obstacles. Under the Constitution, provincial governors, local judges, district governors and most other offices are appointive rather than elective. In some areas, Afghan and American programs have begun to involve communities in local budgeting, but progress is slow and it would probably take several years to expand it to higher levels of government.
“There are no better angels about to descend on Afghanistan,” said Alex Thier, a senior Afghan analyst at the United States Institute of Peace. “Unless some drastic action is taken, Mr. Karzai is the president of Afghanistan, and he was just elected for another five years.”
That prospect leaves some Afghans uneasy. In interviews with more than a dozen people around the country, there was apprehension and dismay over Mr. Karzai’s clash with the international community, and the specter of renewed chaos it could lead to.
“Karzai delivered this speech based on his own difficulties with the foreigners,” said Gulab Mangal, a tribal leader in the Musa Khel area of Khost Province.
“When the international community criticized his brother, he started to raise these problems,” he said, referring to Ahmed Wali Karzai, a prominent figure in southern Afghanistan. “It shows the relation between Karzai and the international community is deteriorating day by day, and that should not be allowed to happen.”
Mehram Ali, a man from Wardak Province who was shopping in Kabul over the weekend, voiced a similar qualm. “We need the international community to keep supporting us and our government,” he said.“In this recent situation we do need foreign soldiers to help us in bringing peace and stability for our country, and if the foreigners leave us, then the people of Afghanistan will face adversity from every direction, and Afghanistan will return to what it was like 10 years ago when we had the Taliban government.”

US Consulate condemns Peshawar blasts

PESHAWAR: The US Consulate in Pakistan Monday condemned the blasts that apparently targeted the US Consulate building.The US Consulate official said the Consulate is garnering information about the blasts.Police and witnesses said at least three bombs exploded in quick succession close to the U.S. Consulate in Peshawar.Gunfire was also heard close to the heavily guarded and fortified building in Peshawar, said police officer Aziz Khan.Two of the blasts took place around 20 yards (meters) from the main entrance to the building, an Associated Press reporter close to the scene said.
The U.S. Embassy in Islamabad said it could not comment.
Local TV footage showed soldiers taking up defensive positions on the road outside the consulate. One soldier hit the ground in the middle of the road and began firing as a large explosion sent up a plume of gray smoke nearby.
Rescue workers carried at least one wounded man away on a stretcher, his clothing soaked with blood.Khyber Road where the US Consulate building is situated, is being air-monitored by the helicopters.

US consulate attacked as 40 die in Peshawar bombings

Militants targeted the US Consulate in Peshawar today with multiple bombs and gun attacks as renewed violence in north-western Pakistan left more than 40 people dead.
Gunmen wearing paramilitary uniforms opened fire outside the consulate from two vehicles before the explosions that shook the high-security district, which also houses key government offices. Bashir Bilour, a senior provincial minister, said at least four attackers were killed by the security forces. He said several unexploded suicide jackets and a large quantity of explosive was also recovered from the scene.
A spokesman for the US Embassy in Islamabad said that the consulate was attacked, but gave no details. At least four US security guards were also injured. The US consulate has been attacked several times in the past.
Local television footage showed soldiers taking up positions around the consulate which was covered with grey smoke. Military helicopters circled the area which was cordoned off by the security forces. At least seven people were killed and several others injured in the attack.
The blasts in Peshawar came hours after a suicide bomb attack on a political party rally in lower Dir district killed at least 36 people. A lone suicide bomber blew himself up in the middle of the rally organized by Awami National Party, which rules the North Western Frontier Province. The rally was taken out to celebrate the renaming of the province to Kyber-Pakhtinkhawa.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack. The Pakistani Army seized the control of Lower Dir, a militant stronghold, few months ago. Mohammed Jamil, the regional police chief said the attack was thought to have been carried out by the Taleban.
Hundreds of people have been killed in past months in north-western Pakistan in violence carried out by al-Qaeda and Taleban militants. The violence has surged after the Pakistani army launched an offensive in South Waziristan, an al-Qaeda stronghold along the border with Afghanistan.

Blasts near US Consulate in Peshawar: 2 dead

PESHAWAR: Suspected militants attacked a Pakistani check-post near the US consulate in Peshawar on Monday, a witness and a doctor said.I saw attackers in two vehicles. Some of them carried rocket-propelled grenades. They first opened fire at security personnel at the post near the consulate and then blasts went off,” city resident Siraj Afridi told Reuters.Other residents said an initial blast went off in the neighborhood of the US consulate and they later heard two other blasts and rifle fire in the same area.
The US embassy in Islamabad confirmed the attack.
“We can confirm there has been an attack at the US consulate Peshawar facilities,” US embassy spokeswoman Ariel Howard told AFP.
She was unable to provide any details about the nature of the attack, possible damage or casualties.The causes of the blasts were not immediately clear, said the security official and local residents.Television footage showed a heavy mushroom cloud and smoke rising into the air over the garrison part of the city, close to the US consulate and the Peshawar headquarters of Pakistan's top spy agency in the Saddar area, bombed last November.Bursts of heavy gunfire could also be heard. According to DawnNews, police and army had resorted to firing and the Khyber Road area had been blocked. Several buildings had collapsed due to the intensity of the blasts. Officials said that many casualties were feared and the injured had been rushed to the hospital.

Z.A.BHUTTO'S DEATH ANNIVERSARY ACROSS PAKHTUNKHWA(NWFP)

PESHAWAR: Like other parts of the country, the 31st death anniversary of founding chairman of Pakistan People’s Party and former prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was observed across the NWFP as ceremonies were held to commemorate the services of the leader on Sunday.Terming the hanging of the Zulfikar Ali Bhutto a political murder by a military dictator, the participants of a seminar in Peshawar demanded reopening of the case.The demand was made at a function organised by People’s Youth Organisation (PYO), the youth wing of the party. The speakers lauded ZA Bhutto contribution to the cause of democracy and downtrodden segments of the society and said the leader gave a voice to the poor and neglected sections of the society.The 1973 unanimous constitution was a precious gift by ZA Bhutto to the nation, however, dictators disfigured it by constant amendments, they added. The speakers including former district nazim of Peshawar, Azam Afridi, Syed Ayub Shah, PYO provincial president Gohar Inqilabi, general secretary Misbahuddin, divisional president Kamran Haider, district president Tasbeehullah and People’s Doctors Forum’s Dr Siraj counted the achievements of PPP governments led by ZA Bhutto and Benazir Bhutto.They said Bhutto was still alive in the hearts of PPP workers and people of Pakistan and leaders like him never died.The great leader sacrificed his life for the people of the country and democracy but neither compromised on principles nor succumbed to pressure tactics of the dictators. The speakers said the workers were an asset to the PPP and they would not hesitate to render sacrifices for the cause of democracy and strengthen democratic institutions in the country. It was untiring efforts of the PPP leaders that restored democracy and won right for the masses as well gave them a say in the decision-making, said the speakers.The speakers resolved to take forward the message and agenda of ZA Bhutto and Benazir Bhutto and make the county prosperous. The Peshawar chapter of the PPP held a function at the Nishtar Hall where the local leaders complained that the genuine party workers in the province were being ignored by the high command. Syed Ayub Shah, Azam Afridi, Akbar Khan and others said certain new entrants to the party were conspiring against the PPP but the party leadership was looking the other way.The speakers paid tributes to Zulfikar Ali Bhutto for standing up to the tyrants and laying down his life for the cause of democracy and his people. They said Benazir Bhutto carried forward the mission of her father but was killed by the enemies of democracy. They said the PPP was the party of the poor and could not be eliminated by the dictators.
NOWSHERA: Local leaders of the PPP demanded of the higher judiciary to reopen the case of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto. Addressing a gathering in Government High School-1, Nowshera Cantt, the PPP acting district president Malik Ghulam Hazrat, PF-12 general secretary Ilyas Khan, PF-14 Hidayat Khan and others said that their great leader had given constitution to the country and the nation and now its leaders gave name to the province. They also paid rich tributes to late leader for making Pakistan a nuclear power.
CHITRAL: A ceremony was organized in the Chitral town hall which was chaired by NWFP Minister for Population Welfare Saleem Khan besides district office-bearers and activists of the PPP. Addressing on the occasion, the speakers highlighted the sacrifices of Bhutto and his family for democracy in the country. They said Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto was the only politician who empowered the power masses.
MINGORA: Activists of the PPP observed the death anniversary of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto at the residence of Dr Shamsher Ali. The speakers on the occasion lauded the leadership of Bhutto and his unforgettable services for the country.
KURRAM AGENCY: A ceremony was held in Parachinar to mark the occasion. Hamid Turi, Qurban Ali, Gulfam Hussain, Iftikhar Sherazi, Sardar Ali Shuhla lauded the services of the late PPP leader for the tribal areas. They urged President Asif Ali Zardari to visit Parachinar and announce a special package for the affected residents of the area.

Afghan president says NATO offensive may not go ahead

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Sunday took another step away from the international coalition supporting him, suggesting NATO’s massive Kandahar province summer offensive may not go ahead.At a fractious “jirga” meeting of about 2,000 tribal elders, politicians and citizens from Kandahar province and neighbouring provinces, Karzai asked those assembled if they were worried about the operation, expected to be NATO’s largest-yet in Afghanistan."We are worried!" many shouted back. Karzai then assured them, "There will be no operation unless you are happy."His administration will engage in further consultation with the province’s people before deciding about the operation, Karzai promised at the meeting in Kandahar City.The president noted that instability in Panjwaii district — where Canadian troops operate from outposts and fortified bases — as well as in other rural areas, can prevent villagers from coming to the city to provide input.“Shura” meetings of local leaders and citizens must be held at the district level, so that "every tribe representative" can give their view on the offensive, said Karzai, who was accompanied to the jirga by U.S. Gen. Stanley McChrystal, commander of NATO forces in Afghanistan.While Karzai has thrown the offensive’s fate into doubt, NATO nations fighting in Afghanistan are under pressure to ensure it goes ahead, said Walilullah Rahmani, executive director of the Kabul Center for Strategic Studies."I do think that the offensive will take place," Rahmani said. "The different nations that have troops in Afghanistan need to have support from their people. They want to convince their population that they are doing right in Afghanistan, and that Afghanistan needs their efforts and their soldiers here. This offensive is to give that picture."If the operation goes ahead, it will be based on intelligence rather than wide-ranging sweeps, said Kandahar province Gov. Tooryalai Wesa, a Canadian-Afghan who used to live in British Columbia."Our plan is to be very target-oriented," Wesa said. "We need exact intelligence . . . who to go after. I’m not thinking that we will be bombing villages (or) innocent people. We will try to make sure who is the wrong person in the village or in the area."Karzai on Sunday addressed the domestic perception that Afghanistan is under foreign control because it is accepting military and financial assistance from the international community.
"We will try to show people that this country is free of domination and has its own faith and system," Karzai said.
In discussing the offensive — considered the next phase of the U.S. Marines’ invasion of Marjah in adjacent Helmand province — Canadian and NATO brass consistently emphasize that they are working in partnership with the Afghan government.
"Afghan ownership of the Kandahar phase of the operation has already begun in the form of political outreach from Kabul to encourage dialogue with the province’s community leaders and power brokers," said Canadian Maj. Daryl Morrell.
"The success of the Afghan political-engagement process in Kandahar will determine the level of military involvement needed to separate the insurgents from the population."
Yet it is clear that concrete planning for the offensive is underway.
Canadian Lt.-Col. Simon Bernard said Friday the operation will focus first on bolstering a "ring of stability" around Kandahar City and its densely populated fringes, then push outward toward insurgency "hot spots," such as those just beyond two Canadian bases in Panjwaii."Based on accurate intelligence, of course, we will conduct disruptive operations," Bernard said.
McChrystal said last month he expected insurgents to resist the offensive mostly with improvised-explosive devices "to try to give a sense that Kandahar and the area cannot be secured."
Karzai on Sunday repeated an offer of reconciliation to the Taliban, but said he wouldn’t make peace with al-Qaida, and terrorists and those who kill children and pregnant brides "won’t be forgiven."

Pakistan Troops Kill Militants in NW Pakistan

The Pakistani military says its troops have killed nearly 40 militants in two separate attacks Sunday in the northwest region of the country.Officials say both offensives were in the Orakzai tribal area near the Afghan border.A government official said several dozen militants attacked a village, but troops beat them back, killing many of the insurgents.Hours later, militants and troops battled in another area of the region. A government official says 12 rebels were killed in that fight.
Pakistan's military figures cannot be independently verified because access to the remote area is limited.Pakistan's military began an offensive in Orakzai in March to flush out Taliban insurgents believed to have fled an earlier military offensive in South Waziristan.

Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto's 31st death anniversary will be observed today

Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was executed on April 4, 1979, a darkest day in the history of Pakistan. Bhutto wrote a book from his death cell, Titled "If I am assassinated," its last pages contained a quote from Russian author Nikolai Dostoevsky: "Man's dearest possession is his life, and since it is given to him to live but once, he must so live as not to be scared with the shame of a cowardly and trivial past, so as not to be tortured for years without purpose, that dying he can say, 'All my life and my strength were given to the first cause in the world - the liberation of mankind.' "As death stared the Z.A Bhutto in the face, he stared back. His past has no shame of cowardice. His daughter, too, gave her life in courage. I would like to express that this man is and was hero of Pakistan. Historians, Retired Judges of the Superior Courts and eminent lawyers have now unanimously admitted that Mr. Z.A Bhutto was hanged by a military dictator General Zia-Ul Haq by orchestrating a judicial trial to get rid of a popular leader. He gave Pakistan its first constitution, nuclear programme, held peace talks with India and brought 90,000 POW who were in Indian prison and were going to face war crimes. He liberated the small farmers and peasants from the repression and cruelty of big landlords and banished the jagirdari and sardari system declaring that all citizens are born equal and must live with equal rights. Z.A Bhutto was a Legend, who lived and died like a hero with courage, determination and devotion to his principles, when cruel dictator Zia was going to kill him, Z.A Bhutto could sign few papers and could live in exile but he was a real man, he was not a coward. He too could have made a deal and lived to fight another day; but only great men with principles sacrifice their life for their cause. He was a brilliant Diplomat who negotiated some of Pakistan's most enduring diplomatic policies as well as bargaining from a position of weakness against Indira Gandhi in Simla. He was a great diplomat; there is a story that the American President John F. Kennedy was much impressed with then Foreign Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. When they met, Kennedy walked with him in the Rose Garden and said, "Bhutto, if you were an American, you would be in my Cabinet". To which Zulfikar Ali Bhutto smilingly replied, "No, Mr. President. If I were an American, you would be in my cabinet".
Z.A. Bhutto is still our greatest leader and has been an inspiration to many. God bless his soul - forever in our prayer.I hope we get a leader like you, waiting for our new Bhutto in our great nation to heed the desperate call of our women, youth and elderly.
The greatest thing a man can do in this world is to make the most possible out of the stuff that has been given him. This is success, and there is no other.


The 31st death anniversary of former Prime Minister and founder Chairman of Pakistan Peoples Party Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto will be observed today (Sunday).
According to the Programme issued by the party, a two minute silence was observed at 02:12 am, the hour on which the Shaheed leader was put on gallows.Mehfil-e-Mushaira will also be held and the documentary of Shaheed Bhutto will be shown on Sunday.
Various programmes including seminars, workers' conventions have also been chalked out in different parts of the country to pay tribute to Quaid-e-Awam.Radio Pakistan and Pakistan Television have also made arrangements for a marathon transmission from 7.00 am to 11.00 pm tomorrow. The special transmission will highlight the life, struggle, services and revolutionary achievements of Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto.Lovers of Bhuttos and Sympathizers of Pakistan Peoples Party across the country, Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan have started to arrive at Garhi Khuda Bux Bhutto to pay homage to their great leaders.Meanwhile, a central executive committee meeting of the Pakistan People's Party will also be held at Naudero this evening which is expected to be chaired by President Asif Ali Zardari who is also the co-chairman of the party.
Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani has said that today, we are solemnly observing the death anniversary of Quaid-e-Awam Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto who dedicated his life and comforts for the rights and betterment of the common man.
"Addressing a gathering in Karachi on January 2, 1974, Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto said "our cherished goal is the betterment of the lot of the common men.Each step closer to that goal fills my heart with immeasurable pleasure, for the attainment of that goal has been the sole object of my life and all my work."
In a message on the occasion being observed today (Sunday), the Prime Minister said instead of compromising on his noble mission, Shaheed ZA Bhutto preferred martyrdom and live to his own words, "if sacrifices are for a good cause, for a cause of national unity, for a cause of national consolidation or happiness then they are not in vain."At a time when the entire nation was beset with gloom following the Fall of Dhaka in 1971, it was the towering personality of ZA Bhutto who came forward and stemmed the tide of defeatism.The promulgation of Constitution of 1973 with the full support and consensus of all strands of political opinion is an abiding tribute to the leadership and statesmanship of Shaheed Zulifqar Ali Bhutto.His policy of 'bilateralism' served to correct the imbalance in Pakistan's foreign policy. His launching of Pakistan's nuclear programme to offset the Indian strategic dominance has turned out to be a sole guardian of our territorial integrity.Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani said the idea of political unity within the Muslim Umma was always close to his heart. His was the driving spirit behind extraordinary meeting of the Islamic Summit in Lahore in 1974.
So numerous are contributions of Shaheed Zulifqar Ali Bhutto that cannot be summed up in a few paragraphs. He sought to redefine the direction of Pakistan in accordance with the vision of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah and Allama Iqbal.

Pakistan tables long-awaited constitutional reforms

The Pakistani government introduced a constitutional bill in parliament Friday, transferring President Asif Ali Zardari's sweeping powers to the prime minister and possibly ending months of political wrangling.
The set of reforms, known as the "18th Amendment Bill" is expected to be passed by the two-chambered parliament, effectively turning Zardari into a titular head of state.

The development may help calm political opposition to Zardari, but the government is facing mounting pressure from an assertive Supreme Court to reopen corruption cases against the president after it threw out a controversial amnesty law in December.

"I suspect that after the signing of the 18th amendment, it (the unstable political environment) is going to change," said Samina Ahmed, South Asia director for the International Crisis Group. "Part of the problem is structural. Nobody knows where the locus of authority lies."

Because of that uncertainty, she said that all branches of government are trying to expand their powers at the expense of the others. "There's a little bit of muscle flexing all around," she said.

But if the 18th Amendment goes through smoothly, the center of authority goes to the parliament, "with the judiciary interpreting" -- possibly leading to a less assertive bench. "It will settle down," she predicted.

The proposed constitutional amendments transfer a number of the president's powers, including the authority to dissolve the national assembly and appoint military chiefs and the chief election commissioner. The bill also shifts Zardari's powers to appoint judges to a commission comprised of senior judges and government figures.

The bill is likely to be passed by far more than the two-thirds super-majority needed in the parliament because it has been drafted by a parliamentary committee made up of all political groups.

No date has been fixed when it will be adopted.

Syria 'Very Important' to Peace Efforts

VOA.COM
U.S. Senator John Kerry met with officials in Syria Thursday, saying the country maintains a "very important" role in achieving peace in the Middle East.

Kerry spoke to reporters in the Syrian capital, Damascus, after meeting with President Bashar al-Assad.

Kerry chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He said the United States remains concerned about the flow of weapons through Syrian territory to the Lebanese-based militant group Hezbollah. He said the movement of weapons must stop in order to promote stability and security in the region.

The U.S. has long accused Syria of supporting Hezbollah and the Palestinian militant group Hamas. The U.S. considers both groups terrorist organizations.

On Wednesday, Kerry held talks on Middle East peace efforts in Lebanon. He told Lebanese Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri that he still hopes progress can be made in the coming weeks.

Kerry called the dispute between Palestinians and Israelis the "single most important" stability issue in the region.

The Obama administration has reached out to Syria in the past year by nominating the first U.S. ambassador to Damascus since 2005 and sending top diplomats to meet with the Syrian president.

The U.S. withdrew its last ambassador to Syria after the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in 2005. Many countries have blamed Syria for the assassination, but Damascus has denied any involvement.

'Pakhtoonkhwa' a milestone in Pashtun identity

A decision by a top Pakistani Parliamentary panel to rename North West Frontier Province as Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa could be an important milestone in the six decade-long struggle for the recognition of Pashtun ethnic identity.

The 26-member parliamentary committee on constitutional reforms yesterday achieved consensus on renaming NWFP as Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa.


The movement for renaming the NWFP, parts of which are now on the frontline of Pakistan’s campaign against the Taliban-led insurgency, saw many ups and downs over the past few decades as the country made its way though dictatorial regimes and democratic governments.

Since 1947, Pashtun nationalists like Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, Khan Abdul Wali Khan and Ajmal Khattak led the movement for the acceptance of their people?s distinct identity.

The Awami National Party, which emerged as the ruling Pakistan People?s Party?s main coalition partner in the NWFP after the 2008 general election, pushed for changing the name of the province to Pakhtoonkhwa.

The party did not want to miss an opportunity as it was aware that President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani were in conformity with the demand.

Zardari and Gilani frequently referred to NWFP as Pakhtoonkhwa in public appearances, something that was unimaginable for Pashtuns.

Such developments rejuvenated the spirit of ANP leaders, who cashed in on the situation despite some opposition to the renaming of the NWFP from sections of people in the province.

"There has been a long debate as to why the ANP could not muster support for the name Pakhtoonkhwa despite the fact that Pashtuns are in a majority in the province," said legislator and dissident ANP leader Arshad Khan.

The proposal to rename the NWFP is part of a groundbreaking constitutional reforms package finalised by a parliamentary panel yesterday.

The package seeks to slash President?s sweeping powers and remove changes made to the constitutional by former military rulers Zia-ul-Haq and Pervez Musharraf to strengthen their grip on power.

The ANP pushed for the NWFP to be renamed Pakhtoonkhwa as Pashtuns comprise 75 per cent of the province?s population of 20 million, but the move was opposed by the opposition PML-N, which said the name would alienate minorities in the province.

The PML-N suggested non-ethnic names like Khyber and Abaseen (the Pashto name for the Indus river) before the parliamentary committee reached comprise by settling on Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa.

Analysts believe the compromise was influenced by senior ANP leader and Railways Minister Ghulam Ahmed Bilour?s veiled threat that the NWFP should get the name Pakhtoonkhwa or else the people could opt for the "Bengali model", a reference to breaking away of East Pakistan in 1971 due to ethnic divisions.

The ANP also showed flexibility on the issue of renaming the province as the party faced criticism from certain pockets, especially Dera Ismail Khan, the Hazara division and, ironically, people in some Pashtun-dominated areas.

The ANP also played down the demand by non-Pashto speaking people for a referendum on the issue and opted for its approval by parliament through a constitutional amendment.

"If the issue had gone to referendum, it would have been catastrophic for the ANP," said a senior government official on condition of anonymity.

The NWFP legislature had passed a unanimous resolution suggesting Pakhtoonistan as the new name for the province but it was modified to Pakhtoonkhwa to avoid controversies attached to the name since Partition.

Some circles in the ANP are still opposed to adding Khyber to Pakhtoonkhwa but the party?s senior leaders have pacified them by saying the opportunity to rename the province should not be missed.

"The opponents will call it Khyber and the supporters as Pakhtoonkhwa," said school teacher Khan Faraz.

"We have scores of other bigger problems like price hikes, shortages of flour, sugar and electricity and lack of employment," he added.

The residents of NWFP capital Peshawar have shown mixed reaction to the move to rename the province, with a majority adopting silent posture as no major celebrations were witnessed except for a gathering at Qayum sports complex that was attended by provincial Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain.

About 2,500 people attended the gathering though Peshawar has a population of over 200,000.

U.S. campaign to reform Kandahar is rife with pitfalls

www.washingtonpost.com
The coming battle for control of this ancient crossroads city will be the toughest challenge of the war in Afghanistan -- not because it will be bloody, necessarily, but because it will require the hardest item for U.S. commanders to deliver, which is an improvement in governance.

Kandahar is the heartland of the Pashtun people -- a place of competing tribes and clans, of hidden wealth accumulated from drug trafficking and smuggling, and of notorious power brokers symbolized in the public mind by Ahmed Wali Karzai, the leader of the provincial council and brother of Afghanistan's president.

Reforming the local government is like disassembling a pyramid of pick-up sticks. One wrong move and the whole pile collapses. Yet if the United States accommodates the existing power structure, it will appear to be condoning corruption here -- a bad message for the public in Afghanistan and America alike.

Talking with U.S. officials about the coming campaign, I heard a range of good ideas but not a clear strategy. The American officials know they can't deliver on their counterinsurgency promise of protecting the population without breaking the hold of the local chieftains. Yet they are wary of toppling the system and opening the way for what might be even worse chaos -- and new resentment at American meddling.

The Kandahar campaign will have a military component as U.S. troops clear Taliban strongholds surrounding the city, such as Zhari, Panjwai and Arghandab. But in Kandahar, the problem isn't the enemy so much as our nominal friends such as Ahmed Karzai. The battle for the city will be political more than military -- and it will require skills and expertise that are in short supply.

"It's amazing what we don't know about Kandahar," says one of the top U.S. military commanders. He just supervised a special push to gather intelligence about power brokers, tribal leaders and their grievances and, as he put it, "who's who in the Kandahar zoo." Unfortunately, the United States is starting from a low base after years of intelligence collection that was "only marginally relevant to the overall strategy," according to a report in January by Maj. Gen. Michael Flynn.

Recognizing the severe gaps in their knowledge, U.S. commanders have adopted what might be described as "operational humility." They know they can make big mistakes if they aren't careful. Shaking up the power structure might put the United States on the side of the Pashtun man in the street, but it would open a power vacuum that could be exploited by the Taliban. Given the planned July 2011 start for withdrawal of U.S. troops, there isn't time for risky experiments in Kandahar. American officials worry, quite sensibly, about the law of unintended consequences.

So commanders are opting instead for an approach that one calls "re-balancing" the Kandahar power elite. The idea is to open up political space to tribes and clans that have been left out of the spoils system. "The basic problem in Kandahar is that you have a disenfranchised population," says Frank Ruggiero, a State Department official who is the top U.S. civilian representative in southern Afghanistan.

The tool that U.S. strategists hope to use to broaden the political base in Kandahar is the traditional Afghan forum known as the "shura." Officials are encouraging these gatherings regularly in the city and the surrounding districts, and urging local Afghan officials to make them more inclusive and a better forum for redressing grievances. They want to combine the shuras with better policing, aided by embedded U.S. trainers, and with new economic development projects.

Traveling here with Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, I attended a shura hosted by Tooryalai Wesa, the governor of Kandahar province. This was not exactly a gathering of the dispossessed. The most emphatic speakers around the table warned that the United States shouldn't go after Ahmed Karzai. "If he's not here, the balance will be unbalanced," Wesa said after the meeting.

Curbing corruption in Kandahar may be mission impossible. But it's the task that the United States has set for itself, by promising through its counterinsurgency campaign that it is working for a better and more just Afghanistan than what the Taliban offers.

It's this dissonance between ends and means that worries a visitor here this week. The hardest part of this war, paradoxically, isn't the fighting on the ground, which the U.S. military conducts brilliantly, but the struggle in the Afghan political sphere, where we know precious little.

U.S. campaign to reform Kandahar is rife with pitfalls

www.washingtonpost.com
The coming battle for control of this ancient crossroads city will be the toughest challenge of the war in Afghanistan -- not because it will be bloody, necessarily, but because it will require the hardest item for U.S. commanders to deliver, which is an improvement in governance.

Kandahar is the heartland of the Pashtun people -- a place of competing tribes and clans, of hidden wealth accumulated from drug trafficking and smuggling, and of notorious power brokers symbolized in the public mind by Ahmed Wali Karzai, the leader of the provincial council and brother of Afghanistan's president.

Reforming the local government is like disassembling a pyramid of pick-up sticks. One wrong move and the whole pile collapses. Yet if the United States accommodates the existing power structure, it will appear to be condoning corruption here -- a bad message for the public in Afghanistan and America alike.

Talking with U.S. officials about the coming campaign, I heard a range of good ideas but not a clear strategy. The American officials know they can't deliver on their counterinsurgency promise of protecting the population without breaking the hold of the local chieftains. Yet they are wary of toppling the system and opening the way for what might be even worse chaos -- and new resentment at American meddling.

The Kandahar campaign will have a military component as U.S. troops clear Taliban strongholds surrounding the city, such as Zhari, Panjwai and Arghandab. But in Kandahar, the problem isn't the enemy so much as our nominal friends such as Ahmed Karzai. The battle for the city will be political more than military -- and it will require skills and expertise that are in short supply.

"It's amazing what we don't know about Kandahar," says one of the top U.S. military commanders. He just supervised a special push to gather intelligence about power brokers, tribal leaders and their grievances and, as he put it, "who's who in the Kandahar zoo." Unfortunately, the United States is starting from a low base after years of intelligence collection that was "only marginally relevant to the overall strategy," according to a report in January by Maj. Gen. Michael Flynn.

Recognizing the severe gaps in their knowledge, U.S. commanders have adopted what might be described as "operational humility." They know they can make big mistakes if they aren't careful. Shaking up the power structure might put the United States on the side of the Pashtun man in the street, but it would open a power vacuum that could be exploited by the Taliban. Given the planned July 2011 start for withdrawal of U.S. troops, there isn't time for risky experiments in Kandahar. American officials worry, quite sensibly, about the law of unintended consequences.

So commanders are opting instead for an approach that one calls "re-balancing" the Kandahar power elite. The idea is to open up political space to tribes and clans that have been left out of the spoils system. "The basic problem in Kandahar is that you have a disenfranchised population," says Frank Ruggiero, a State Department official who is the top U.S. civilian representative in southern Afghanistan.

The tool that U.S. strategists hope to use to broaden the political base in Kandahar is the traditional Afghan forum known as the "shura." Officials are encouraging these gatherings regularly in the city and the surrounding districts, and urging local Afghan officials to make them more inclusive and a better forum for redressing grievances. They want to combine the shuras with better policing, aided by embedded U.S. trainers, and with new economic development projects.

Traveling here with Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, I attended a shura hosted by Tooryalai Wesa, the governor of Kandahar province. This was not exactly a gathering of the dispossessed. The most emphatic speakers around the table warned that the United States shouldn't go after Ahmed Karzai. "If he's not here, the balance will be unbalanced," Wesa said after the meeting.

Curbing corruption in Kandahar may be mission impossible. But it's the task that the United States has set for itself, by promising through its counterinsurgency campaign that it is working for a better and more just Afghanistan than what the Taliban offers.

It's this dissonance between ends and means that worries a visitor here this week. The hardest part of this war, paradoxically, isn't the fighting on the ground, which the U.S. military conducts brilliantly, but the struggle in the Afghan political sphere, where we know precious little.

Asfandyar praises media role on 18th amendment draft

ANP Chief Asfandyar Wali on Thursday hailed the role of media with regard to the draft of 18th amendment.Talking to media outside the National Assembly, Asfandyar wali said 18th amendment was not only limited to the name, adding that the province could not be deprived of its right.He said we have got our identity and we are now happy. Pakhtoonkhwa is not only the province for Pashtuns, ANP chief added.Asfandyar said name of Raza Rabbani will be written with golden words in the constitutional history of Pakistan.

Karzai Lashes Out at West Over Afghan Elections

President Hamid Karzai accused the West on Thursday of trying to ruin Afghanistan's elections, intensifying a showdown with parliament over whether foreigners will oversee a parliamentary vote this year.

Karzai's international reputation took a battering last year after a U.N.-backed fraud watchdog threw out a third of the votes cast for him in last year's presidential election. He is now wrangling with parliament and the United Nations over fraud protection measures for a parliamentary vote due in September.

"Foreigners will make excuses, they do not want us to have a parliamentary election," a defiant Karzai told a gathering of election officials. "They want parliament to be weakened and battered, and for me to be an ineffective president and for parliament to be ineffective.

"You have gone through the kind of elections during which you were not only threatened with terror, you also faced massive interference from foreigners," Karzai told the officials. "Some embassies also tried to bribe the members of the commission."

He singled out Peter Galbraith, the American former deputy of the U.N. mission in Kabul, sacked after accusing his boss of turning a blind eye to fraud, and French General Philippe Morillon, head of an EU vote monitoring mission.

"There was fraud in the presidential and provincial election, with no doubt there was massive fraud. This wasn't fraud by Afghans but the fraud of foreigners, the fraud of Galbraith, of Morillon and the votes of the Afghan nation were in the control of an embassy," Karzai said.

He accused Galbraith of telling an election official he would be "digging himself an early grave" if Karzai was declared first round winner and said Morillon had tried to block the announcement of results to force Karzai to accept a political alliance.

ELECTION STAND-OFF HURTS SUPPORT FOR WAR

Last year's election stand-off -- which ended when the U.N.-backed body ordered a second round but Karzai's opponent quit -- eroded support in the West for the eight-year-old war. A new election confrontation could further sour public opinion in a decisive year, when Washington is sending an extra 30,000 troops.

Ahead of September's parliamentary poll, Karzai issued a decree in February revoking the power of the United Nations to appoint the majority of members of the election fraud watchdog.

The lower house of parliament rejected Karzai's decree on Wednesday, a move diplomats described as a rebuke for the president, although the motion would still need to pass in the upper house to restore U.N. oversight of the vote.

Karzai told the election officials and reporters his decree was vital to Afghanistan's sovereignty.

The United Nations has called for reforms to Afghanistan's election commission to prevent fraud, before it will agree to free up donor funds needed to pay for the September 18 vote.

"The foreigners have said if you don't dismiss these men, we will not give you any money," Karzai said, adding he would announce changes to the election commission next week.

The fraud watchdog is a separate body, which was led by a Canadian during last year's election and ordered the election commission to overturn Karzai's first round victory.

New U.N. envoy Staffan de Mistura accepted a compromise offer from Karzai this month that would let the United Nations appoint a minority of members of the fraud watchdog, rather than the majority as it did last year. Parliament's rejection of Karzai's decree means the status of that deal is now in doubt.

"I am working on it. That's all I can say," de Mistura told Reuters late on Wednesday.

BlackBerry Users Will Defect

Despite bells and whistles, the device misses the 'fun factor.'

Call it a matter of touch-screen envy, but many BlackBerry users are starting to feel the 24-month-contract itch.
And they're willing to switch to Apple Inc.'s (AAPL) iPhone or Google Inc.'s (GOOG) Nexus One, according to a recent study.
Conducted by the online market researchers Crowd Science, the survey results show that Research in Motion (RIMM) BlackBerry users are more likely to abandon the brand than iPhone or Android users. When asked of the likelihood of buying a particular brand of cell phone or smartphone if the purchase was made the following day, 39% of BlackBerry owners said they "definitely or probably would" nab an iPhone. And roughly one-third of the participants claimed they'd snatch up an Android phone.
Meanwhile, the fierce Google-Apple war seems to have bled into the user base.
An overwhelming majority of iPhone users -- 92% -- would likely stay loyal to the Apple device, and only a tad fewer Android owners -- 87% -- made a similar claim.
However, Apple zealots who unleash a fervent hatred for opposing teams may have met their indignant match. While 15% of iPhone users "definitely or probably would not" recommend an Android device, a whopping 45% of Android users would never dare give Steve Jobs' baby a thumbs up. Whether that's a product of outsider's scorn or buyer's remorse, the study didn't pose the question.
But as the battle between Apple and Google rages on, BlackBerry users look on with a degree of envy.
Despite commanding a hefty lead over the iPhone in the smartphone market share -- 42% versus 25%, respectively -- the numbers for RIM have begun to drop, along with Microsoft's (MSFT) Windows Mobile and Palm (PALM).
According to comScore, RIM's market share dropped a percentage point in the fourth quarter of 2009 from the third quarter, and Apple's rose 1.2%. PCWorld's Tony Bradley calculated that, given the same rate of rise and decline, Apple could surpass RIMM's market share by February 2012. And buoyed by the success of the Motorola (MOT) Droid, Android showed the biggest gains -- rising 2.7% to 5.2%.

Crowd Science Chief Executive John Martin addressed the study in the company blog. "These results show that the restlessness of BlackBerry users with their current brand hasn't just been driven by the allure of iPhone." He added, "Rather, BlackBerry as a brand just isn't garnering the loyalty seen with other mobile operating systems."So what's the allure of the competitors? Why are BlackBerry users more willing to jump ship?

BlackBerry has long been the choice of tech-savvy executives who are wirelessly tethered to their jobs. But as evidenced in the study, only 7% of BlackBerry owners still use their device exclusively for work. For years, the smartphone has ceased to be merely associated with work -- an evolution that Apple played a large role in influencing. However, the BlackBerrys, the Palm Treos, and the Windows Mobile devices never successfully adopted the veneer of "recreational smartphones" nearly as well as Apple or Android.

Put simply, iPhones, Droids, and Nexus Ones just look like more fun. And as the "fun factor" became a significant reason why smartphones became as popular as they did, any manufacturer still focusing on the business aspects fell out of favor with users.

What's the appeal of a physical keyboard if the iPhone can remember where you parked? Why use Microsoft Exchange when the Droid works seamlessly with Gmail -- a service more businesses are using anyway? Is there a point to waiting for a BlackBerry version of an app that has dozens of variants available in the App Store or Android Market?

Unless a new BlackBerry device sheds the brand's stodgy work image, RIMM is going to miss out on all the fun -- and customers.
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Russia's Medvedev promises 'crueler' measures

MAKHACHKALA, Russia – President Dmitry Medvedev made a surprise visit Thursday to the violence-wracked southern province of Dagestan, telling police and security forces to use tougher, "more cruel" measures to fight the "scum" responsible for terrorist attacks.

In his dress — a black T-shirt under a black suit coat — and rough language, Medvedev was following the lead of Russia's powerful prime minister, Vladimir Putin.

Twin suicide bombings this week in Moscow — which Islamic militants from the North Caucasus claim to have carried out — has refocused attention on the violence that for years has been confined to the predominantly Muslim republics in Russia's southern corner.

An explosion Thursday morning killed two suspected militants and wounded a third in Dagestan near the border with Chechnya. Police said the men may have been transporting a makeshift bomb. The day before, two suicide bombings in Dagestan killed 12 people, including nine policemen, a frequent target of attacks because they represent Russian authority.

The suicide bombings on the Moscow subway killed 39 people on Monday and have left nearly 90 hospitalized.

Federal Security Service director Alexander Bortnikov said the organizers of the Moscow attacks have been identified as "bandits" from the Northern Caucasus, and some have been detained.

"We know the personalities of organizers," he said in televised remarks. "We have detained a number of people, conducted interrogations, got evidence."

Medvedev said much more needed to be done to stop the attacks.

"The measures to fight terrorism should be expanded, they should be more effective, more harsh, more cruel," he said during a televised meeting with local officials.

In recent months, police and security forces have killed at least two high-profile Islamic militants, but they have been unable to capture the veteran Chechen militant Doku Umarov, who has claimed responsibility for the Moscow subway attacks.

"We have torn of the heads of the most notorious bandits, but clearly this was not enough. In any case, we will find them all and punish them," Medvedev said.

Swat operation saved country from terrorism

MINGORA: Lieutenant General Masood Alam, corps commander of Peshawar, on Wednesday said that successful military operation in Swat saved the entire country from the wave of militancy and terrorism.

He was addressing the soldiers in Frontier Constabulary (FC) camp in Kanju during his visit to Swat district. Operational commander for Swat Major General Ashfaq Nadeem, Brigadier Salman Akbar, Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Police Malakand Division Qazi Jamilur Rehman and Commissioner Malakand Fazal Karim Khattak were also present on the occasion.

The corps commander said the militants were on the run from the area to Afghanistan and other tribal areas. He said those who had been arrested would be produced in the court of law. He said the role of Pakistan Army was to check the foreign aggression and safeguard borders and nobody would be allowed to harm national solidarity.

He said the banned Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) chief Maulana Fazlullah had tried to establish a state within state and challenged the writ of the government. He reminded that the provincial government had held talks and signed peace agreements with the militants but to no avail. The corps commander maintained that the security forces were compelled to take action against the TTP militants as they were carrying out terrorist activities.

UN Delays Release of Bhutto Assassination Inquiry Report

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday accepted a request from Pakistan's president to delay until April 15 the release of a report on the December 2007 assassination of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. The report was to have been released on Tuesday.

At the request of the Pakistani government, the Secretary-General appointed an independent commission last June to investigate the assassination of Ms. Bhutto. The commission, led by Chilean Ambassador to the U.N. Heraldo Munoz, interviewed a number of people, including several high ranking government officials in Pakistan.

Mr. Ban's spokesman, Martin Nesirky, says the commission examined all "relevant facts and circumstances" into Ms. Bhutto's murder. He says the report is being held back because of an "urgent," overnight request Mr. Ban received from Ms. Bhutto's widower - Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari. "This was an independent commission, set up by the Secretary-General. It was a request that came from the authorities - the government in Pakistan. Therefore, if a request is received from the head of state and government of a country, then the Secretary-General has to consider that. And he [Mr. Ban] has decided to accept this request for a delay in the presentation of the report," he said.

Nesirky says neither the Secretary-General nor the government of Pakistan has seen the report's contents. "The intention is that it will not be seen by the Pakistan government until the 15th [of April]," he said.

Earlier, a U.N. official who had been briefed on the commission's conclusions told VOA that the report faulted the Pakistani government for failing to adequately protect Benazir Bhutto and for scrubbing down the crime scene soon after she was killed.

Efforts to reach the Pakistani U.N. Mission to ask why the government requested the delay were unsuccessful. A spokeswoman for the head of the commission declined to give a statement because, she said, the commission had just been notified of the delay.

Although Pakistan and the United States initially blamed Pakistani Taliban commander Baitullah Mehsud for Ms. Bhutto's death, close allies of the former prime minister assert that government officials or her political rivals might have played a role.

The independent commission was supposed to submit its report at the end of last year, but Mr. Ban extended its mandate because of what he said was a "substantial amount of information" collected by investigators, and the need for more investigation.

After the report is delivered to the Pakistani authorities, it will be up to them to determine who is criminally responsible for Ms. Bhutto's death.

Afghanistan is World's Top Hashish Producer

A new U.N. survey shows Afghanistan is not only the world's top opium producer, but it has surpassed Morocco in becoming the top global producer of hashish. From Paris, our correspondent has more on the findings by the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime.

The U.N. survey adds to international concern about Afghanistan's drug cultivation. While Afghanistan is not the world's-largest producer of cannabis in terms of acreage, it tops the list when it comes to producing hashish from the crop.

Overall, the study by the Vienna-based U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime found Afghan farmers produce between 1,500 and 3,500 tons of hashish per year.

Like opium, of which Afghanistan is also the world's top producer, cultivation of cannabis is largely concentrated in the more unstable south.

UN drugs office spokesman Walter Kemp says there is some good news in the report, farmers in other parts of the country appear to be turning away from drug cultivation.

"We see generally throughout the country, farmers in areas not in the south of the country are turning to alternatives, because they know that growing these illicit crops is illegal," said Walter Kemp. "Slowly, slowly, development assistance is coming through. The government and provincial governors are able to enforce the law better. International forces are also having their impact."

Afghanistan's illegal drugs industry amounts to a $3-billion a year business controlled by gangs and militants. The narcotics are smuggled through central Asian and Balkans routes and end up for sale in Russia, Western Europe and Asia.

Kemp says there are also serious concerns about the level of drug addiction among the Afghan population.

"The indications are that it is a serious problem in terms of opium consumption and also cannabis," he said. "But we will only have the hard date in the next few months."

The U.N. office also has a message for the international community.

"We are saying to governments that you have a strong responsibility not only to improve the situation in Afghanistan, but to stop the addiction in your own countries, which is driving this whole drugs trade," said Kemp.

In other words, the United Nations says fighting drug production and trade goes hand in hand with fighting the insurgency in Afghanistan.

Zardari wanted U.N. to quiz Rice, Karzai over Bhutto killing

Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari asked the U.N. to delay a report on the assassination of Benazir Bhutto as he wanted investigators to quiz four personalities, including former U.S. top diplomat Condoleezza Rice, who had prior information on threats to her life.

Mr. Zardari is “said to have quietly given names of four international personalities — U.S. ex-Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai, Saudi Arabian intelligence chief Prince Muqrin (bin Abdul Aziz) and the UAE intelligence chief — to the U.N. inquiry commission to ask them: How did they know the secret in advance that Benazir Bhutto would be killed?,” The News daily reported on Thursday.

The U.N. commission has been asked to meet these “four indirect witnesses” before submitting its report on Bhutto’s assassination in 2007, the paper said quoting its sources.

This new information had also resolved a two-and-half year old mystery about which two countries had warned Bhutto about a possible attack on her life when she returned to Pakistan from self-exile in October 2007, the report said.

It identified the two countries as the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, “whose intelligence chiefs had warned the Pakistan People’s Party chairperson (about) threats to her life”.

It added that Prince Muqrin had warned Bhutto about threats to her life.

The report claimed that the U.N. commission was making contacts with the four personalities to “seek explanations from them as how did they already (know of) threats” to Bhutto’s life.

It quoted sources as saying that Mr. Zardari believed the “inside information” that could be shared by these four personalities “might greatly help the inquiry commission to identify the real killers whose secret plans somehow reached the intelligence agencies of Afghanistan, the U.S., UAE and Saudi Arabia, and which turned out to be prophetically correct”.

Pakistan’s permanent representative to the U.N. Hussain Haroon held talks with U.N. officials in New York to convince them that it was important to interview these four personalities, the report claimed.

Presidential spokesman Farhatullah Babar has said that Mr. Zardari wanted three friendly countries that had warned Bhutto before her return to Pakistan to share information with the U.N. commission.

Mr. Babar did not name these countries but media reports have said they are Afghanistan, UAE and Saudi Arabia.

Mr. Babar said one of these countries has shared its views with the U.N. commission and hoped the other two would also do so.

The News also quoted its sources as saying that Mr. Zardari was “not satisfied with the U.N. report” on the killing of Bhutto after he learnt that commission which was paid over half a billion rupees by the government of Pakistan to meet its expenses, did not contact the four international personalities.

The sources said Mr. Zardari knew the information given by these personalities to Bhutto as she kept him informed about these warnings.

Hours before her assassination, she had also told Mr. Zardari that Mr. Karzai had informed her that Afghan intelligence had information about a possible attack on her.

The sources said Ms. Rice was a “potential witness” because the U.S. provided a “steady stream of intelligence” to Bhutto about threats to her and advised her aides on improving her security.

The source said senior U.S. diplomats had multiple conversations, including at least two private face-to-face meetings, with top members of the Pakistan People’s Party to discuss threats to Bhutto’s life and review her security arrangements after a suicide attack on her motorcade the day she returned to Pakistan from exile in October 2007.

Khyber-Pakhtoonkhwa new name for NWFP: Consensus at last

ISLAMABAD: The Parliamentary Committee on Constitutional Reforms on Wednesday concluded a landmark task by finalising its recommendations for the draft 18th amendment bill, after it arrived at a consensus on the renaming of the NWFP and the composition of the judicial commission.

The 26-member committee headed by Mian Raza Rabbani signed the final draft of the amendment package at the Parliament House and the draft is likely to be tabled in parliament in the next couple of days.

Renaming: In Wednesday’s deliberations, the Awami National Party and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz agreed to rename the NWFP Khyber-Pakhtoonkhwa. However, the PML-Q and the PPP-Sherpao wrote a “note of reiteration” over the clause and vowed to vote against it whenever the draft is moved in parliament for approval.

PML-N demands: The parliamentary committee also included PML-N’s demands regarding the composition of the proposed judicial commission. The PML-N had demanded that the appointment of judges to superior courts should be based on the chief justice’s recommendations, who
must have the authority to appoint a retired judge, who never took oath under the Provisional Constitutional Order (PCO), as seventh member of the proposed commission. The committee also decided that the law minister, instead of the attorney general, would represent the government in the commission.

PPP-Sherpao chief Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao said his party supported Pakhtoonkhwa as the new name for the NWFP, as the provincial assembly had adopted a resolution in its favour. PML-Q’s Amir Muqam called the proposed name for the NWFP “highly biased”, fearing it will create linguistic rifts in the province.

Under the proposed package, the Council of Common Interest has been given additional powers and the provinces have been given more say on national matters by enhancing their representation in the council, which would be authorised to deal with all subjects put under part-2 of the federal list. The committee also proposed the abolition of Article 58(2b), which empowers the president to dissolve parliament.

Nothing less than Pakhtoonkhwa acceptable

PESHAWAR: Awami National Party (ANP) has stated that the NWFP renaming issue would be resolved till March 31.Talking to a private news channel on Sunday, ANP leader Senator Haji Adeel said that PML-N has sought time on the renaming of NWFP, adding that the issue would be resolved till March 31.Adeel said that no other name for the province would be accepted except Pakhtoonkhwa.He said that the Pakistan Muslim League-N had rejected the name of Afghania on the basis that Afghanistan has been claiming its ownership of the area spreading from Durand Line to Jhelum.
He said that the names like Abaseen and Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa can be accepted but no name without the word Pakhtoonkhwa would be accepted.
Adeel said Mian Nawaz Sharif had suggested Pakhtoonkhwa Khyber earlier but he is not firm on his stance.The ANP leader said that the name of Pakhtoonkhwa is being demanded by 12 of the 14 parliamentary parties and the entire nation.Meanwhile, PML-N leader Siddiqul Farooq has rejected ANP's claim that PML-N has sought time on renaming of NWFP.He was of view that the issue would be resolved in a meeting between leadership of both parties within few days.PML-N leader Pir Sabir Shah talking to ARY News on Saturday said that ANP had proposed three names for the province ie Pakhtoonkhwa, Pakhtoonistan and Afghania.Sabir Shah said his party has shown flexibility in its stance on the issue and accepted Afghania adding that now the ball is in Awami National Party's court.Meanwhile PML-Q leader Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain has proposed the name of "Pukhtoon Abaseen" for NWFP.According to Dunya News, Chaudhry Shujaat, Senator Waseem Sajjad and Khalid Ranjha met to discuss the issue of a new name for NWFP.Shujaat has also convened a meeting of provincial leadership for today to discuss the issue.Pakistan Muslim League-N leader Iqbal Zafar Jhagra has said that his party does not consider the renaming of NWFP as an issue of its ego.

ANP Chief rules out meeting with Nawaz Sharif

The Awami National Party Chief Asfandyar Wali Khan on Monday ruled out meeting with PML-N Chief Nawaz Sharif for settling the controversy over renaming the NWFP and said that the matter would be decided by the Constitutional Reform Committee.

Talking to the media outside the parliament house, Wali said that it was previously a bilateral matter between ANP and PML-N but now since the matter had been taken up by the Constitutional Reform Committee it was no longer their issue to resolve.

The committee is the best forum for deciding the new name for the NWFP, he stated.

Wali said that they had waited for 63 years to rename the NWFP and that there was no harm in waiting for another two or three weeks.

He hoped that this issue would be resolved through the CRC forum. He said with the exception of PML-N and Q all political parties including the Baloch nationalists, were supporting them on deciding upon 'Pakhtoonkhwa' as the name for the NWFP.

Peshawar Explosion

At least five people have been injured in an explosion at Bilal market in Hayatabad area of Peshawar, police sources confirmed SAMAA on Sunday.The explosion hit a CD shop in Hayatabad’s Bilal market.The police and other law enforcement agencies have cordoned off the area. The rescue work has been initiated. The injured have been taken to Hayatabad Medical Complex. The police have asked the Bomb Disposal Squad to reach the site of the incident to investigate the nature of the explosion.AGENCIES ADD: A bomb attack Sunday wounded five people and destroyed a music shop in northwestern Pakistan, police said.A bomb planted near the shop exploded in a bazaar in the neighbourhood of Hayatabad in Peshawar, the troubled capital of Northwest Frontier Province which has seen several attacks blamed on Pakistani Taliban."The bomb was planted near the CD shop, at least five people were injured," Sher Akbar, a senior police official told AFP.The shop was destroyed while two nearby grocery shops were slightly damaged, he added.There was no claim of responsibility, but local police officials blamed the incident on 'miscreants', a term often used for Taliban militants.Attacks by Islamist extremists in Pakistan have killed more than 3,100 people since July 2007. Most of the violence is blamed on the Pakistani Taliban.Insurgents have also bombed dozens of entertainment shops in the northwest of the country in recent years, saying that music and images are against the teachings of Islam.

Obama makes surprise trip to Afghanistan

New York Times
President Obama made a surprise trip to Afghanistan on Sunday, his first visit as commander in chief to the site of the war he inherited and has stamped as his own.

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While there, Mr. Obama pressed President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan for a crackdown on corruption while strengthening the judicial system and promoting good governance, The Associated Press reported.

After a brief meeting with Mr. Karzai at the presidential palace in Kabul, Mr. Obama also praised steps in the military campaign against insurgents, but said Afghans needed to see conditions on the ground get better, The A.P. reported.

“Progress will continue to be made, but we also want to make progress on the civilian front,” Mr. Obama was quoted as saying, referring to anti-corruption efforts, good governance and adherence to the rule of law.

“All of these things end up resulting in an Afghanistan that is more prosperous and more secure,” Mr. Obama said, according to The A.P. He invited Karzai to visit Washington on May 12, the White House said.

For his part, Mr. Karzai promised that his country “would move forward into the future” to eventually take over its own security, and he thanked Mr. Obama for the American intervention in his country.

The president landed in Afghanistain, at Bagram Air Base, after a 13-hour nonstop flight for a visit shrouded in secrecy for security reasons and quickly boarded a helicopter for the presidential palace in Kabul. There, Mr. Obama and Mr. Karzai walked and chatted along a red carpet as they made their way to an Afghan color guard, where the national anthems of both countries were played, in a welcoming ceremony that lasted 10 minutes.

White House officials disclosed no information about the trip until Mr. Obama’s plane had landed in Afghanistan, and had even gone so far as to inform reporters that the president would be spending the weekend at Camp David with his family. In fact, Mr. Obama’s trip is occurring during the Afghan night, and he is expected to be on his way back to Washington before most Afghans wake up Monday morning.

Mr. Obama will also meet with some of the tens of thousands of American troops who have been sent to Afghanistan since he took office. His visit with the troops is particularly significant because it comes at the same time that military officials report that the number of American troops killed in Afghanistan has roughly doubled in the first three months of 2010, compared to the same period last year.

The number of soldiers wounded in combat has also spiked dramatically. Military officials have warned that casualties are likely to continue to rise sharply as the Pentagon completes the deployment of 30,000 additional soldiers, per Afghanistan strategy announced by Mr. Obama in November. The reason for the spike, military officials said, is because American forces are aggressively seeking out Taliban insurgents in the country’s population centers, and are planning a major operation in the Kandahar, the spiritual home of the Taliban, in the coming months.

Mr. Obama’s trip caps a high-profile week for the president in which he coupled a singular domestic policy victory — the signing of a health reform bill — with the foreign policy achievement: reaching an arms control agreement with Russia in which the two agreed to slash their nuclear arsenals to the lowest levels in half a century.

Coming on top of that, the Palm Sunday visit to American combat troops by their commander in chief could project the image of a president keeping on top of a number of issues at once.

At the same time, though, Mr. Obama’s visit has been a long time coming. While he visited troops at Camp Victory, Iraq, three months after he was inaugurated, the White House has held off on a presidential visit to Afghanistan as Mr. Obama went through a rigorous months-long review of Afghanistan strategy, and as that country endured the twists and turns of a disputed election.

Even after Mr. Karzai was inaugurated and Mr. Obama announced that he would send an additional 30,000 troops, Mr. Obama put off a trip as he focused on domestic priorities, including a health care bill.

In some ways, the Afghanistan visit serves as a stark reminder that even with health care done, there remain major challenges ahead.

9,000 Afghans die of TB every year

KABUL: According to a recent report written by World Health Organizaytion (WHO), around 9000 Afghans die every year due to affliction with TB (Tuberculosis) in Afghanistan. At a ceremony of the World TB Day held at the auditorium of Kabul Medical University, Dr Suraya Dalil, Policy and Planning Deputy Minister and Acting Public Health Minister of Afghanistan said that number of TB cases in Afghanistan is still shocking despite aggressive combat against this disease. Based on the recent report obtained from WHO (2009) around 51000 new TB cases are being detected among which 9000 die every year. 33000 of these cases, recently reported are women. That is women make 64% of overall TB clients attending health facilities. Among the 22 countries located in Eastern Mediterranean Region, Afghanistan has had the highest rate of TB cases. Added Dr Dalil, the Acting Minister of Public Health. In addition, she pointed that totally 26358 TB cases were detected during year 2009 all of whom were covered by National TB Control Program. Dr Suraya Dalil then added National TB Control Program which was severely damaged by a long term civil war had been resumed not so later than the establishment of Afghanistan Transitional Government. In 2003 the very first strategic plan for TB Control Program was established in cooperation with WHO and some other MoPH partners. Honorable Guest of the ceremony, Marshal Mohammad Qaseem Fahim, the First Vice President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan addressing the World TB Day also said that some chronic diseases such as TB are predisposed by poverty and social deprivation. And he requested the people to contribute to the fight back against Tuberculosis. He, afterwards, told that this disease usually affects individuals in various parts of the country, in particular, the remote areas; and the health workers are obliged to work for elimination of the disease. He highlighted the existence of Stop TB Partnership Board in Afghanistan as a positive action towards elimination of this disease. He pointed that the National TB Control Program of the Ministry of Public Health of Afghanistan has made astonishing achievements in combating Tuberculosis. Meanwhile, Prof. Obaidullah Obaid, chancellor of Kabul Medical University said that TB is a major problem in the world taking lives of thousands of people every year. He also indicated that The Stop TB Partnership Board has worked hard during the past two years so as to stop TB in Afghanistan as well as conducting public awareness programs for Stopping TB.