::: Press Review July 22

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Economic Press Review
July 22 - 28

Headlines

Afghan police accused of extorting bribes from Pak truckers

Destruction of shacks sparks protest in Kabul

300 telephone booths to be operational soon

Pak-Afghan border trade route reopens

Pakistan donates Rs25m food items to Afghanistan

India's ORG Informatics unit gets $15 mln contract

Pakistan to trim ATT negative list

Islamabad announces $100m grant for Kabul; Pak-Afghan investment pact inked

Carpet industry face problems in Herat

Pakistan, Afghanistan Sign Investment Protection Treaty

Where Streets Have No Name

Afghan businessmen seek end to bribes demanded by Pakistani customs

Pakistan to ask Kabul for zero-rated export duty

Important Pak-Afghan trade pacts on the cards

Globecomm Systems Awarded One Year Service Contract from the Afghanistan Ministry of Communications to Carry Internet and Voice Services Traffic

Oil supply restored

Elections to be 'last stand' for Afghan insurgents

Britain pledges $350m in aid to Afghanistan

Afghanistan to build 30 airports in three years

More Pak bank branches in Afghanistan urged

Gwadar port to stimulate Pak-Afghan trade

(Attached local press clippings)

Industrial evolution of Herat

Herat-Islam Qala road opened

Japan approved US$ 5 m contribution for expansion of power in Herat

Administrative law proving the status of fiscal matters and public expenditures

Cornerstone of the trade technical center laid down in Kabul

Industrial parks to be restored in Afghanistan?s Capital and provinces

Fruit Flights

Carpet industry to develop rugged economy

Baghlan sugar industry to be renovate

More Pak bank branches in Afghanistan urged

Press Clippings

Afghanistan officially seeks more facilities for transit trade from Pakistan govt

Gulf Times, Qatar

Published: Wednesday, 27 July, 2005,

ISLAMABAD: Afghanistan has asked Pakistan to allow the licensed private ?bonded carriers? in addition to Pakistan Railways to transport Afghan cargo from Karachi ports and Chaman.

According to the minutes of the fifth session of Pakistan-Afghan Joint Economic Commission held on July 23-24 in Kabul, the Afghan government sought a number of facilities from Pakistan under bilateral trade and Afghan Transit Trade Agreement.

The Pakistani side at the meeting, led by Secretary Economic Affairs Division Khalid Saeed, assured to sympathetically look into the fresh requests of the Afghan government. In some cases, the requests of the Karzai government on various issues were instantly accepted. The Afghan side was led by Deputy Minister of Finance Asad Sakhi Farhad.

Currently, the Afghan side said, only Pakistan Railways was transporting Afghan transit cargo from the ports of Karachi to Peshawar and Chaman. However, due to increasing volume of workload, Pakistan Railways was finding it difficult to effectively handle the transportation.

Therefore, the Afghan side requested Pakistan government to also allow the private sector to lift cargo from Karachi ports.

Farhad requested that arrangements should be made for clearance of Afghan transit goods at Karachi ports round the clock and seven days a week. The Afghan representative stated that a lot of Afghan commercial and non-commercial cargo comprising food, medicines, chemicals and other perishable items were offloaded at Port Qasim, where no proper storage facilities are available for such goods.

Farhad requested that warehouses/sheds should be constructed at Port Qasim for perishable goods imported under the ATT.

Khalid Saeed agreed to the proposal and said that he would work out the details of the issue by taking up the matter with the relevant authorities in Pakistan.

The Afghan side further requested that the customs stations at Torkham and Spin Boldak should be electronically linked with the central computers at Karachi, Peshawar and Quetta for retrieving Afghan transit data and also data of exports made to Afghanistan. Asad Sakhi Farhad appreciated that the customs examination of Afghan cargo had been discontinued at Karachi.

However, he said, it would be further appreciated if similar arrangements were made at Peshawar dry port and Chaman and the Afghan cargo is exempt from customs examinations at these places. According to him, this measure would reduce the dwelling time and would also save the goods from being damaged.

The Afghan delegation also proposed that suitable amendment be made through the good offices of the ministries of commerce of both the countries, in the Pak-Afghan Transit Trade Agreement 1965 for abolishing Afghan Transit Trade Invoice.

The Afghan side said that after the introduction of the customs of ?goods declaration? in Pakistan for clearance of Afghan transit cargo at Karachi, the need for Afghan Transit Trade Invoice no longer exists.

The Pakistani side agreed that they would refer the matter to the Ministry of Commerce for vetting and necessary action in consultation with the Afghan Ministry of Commerce.

The Afghan delegation said that the Afghan trucks should be allowed on reciprocal basis to free pass through the territory of Pakistan, as Pakistani trucks were allowed within Afghanistan. ? Internews

Afghan police accused of extorting bribes from Pak truckers

By Pakhtun Sahar & Zainab Mohammadi

ISLAMABAD, July 27

(Pajhwok Afghan News)

Pakistani truckers, accusing Afghan policemen of extorting bribes from them and complaining of armed robberies, have demanded of the government to resolve their pestering problems.

Haji Liaquat Ali, head of the All Pakistan Truck and Oil-Tanker Owners' Association, alleged on Wednesday their drivers were treated unfairly and forced into paying illegal gratification to police on different roads.

Speaking to Pajhwok Afghan News, he said: "Our drivers are blackmailed all the way from the Torkham border-crossing to Kabul and beyond. Before making it to the Shomali Plains, they are stopped so many times by policemen and gunmen."

He griped the truckers - paying thousands of rupees in bribes - "literally bought their way" to various destinations inside Afghanistan. Despite a string of complaints lodged with the Afghan government, Liaquat said, the plight of Pakistani drivers stayed unmitigated.

But the press office at the Afghan Interior Ministry said the Pakistani truckers had not yet approached them with a formal complaint. He explained a high-powered commission had been set up at the ministry to look into gripes against police officials.

Another member of the association, Ashraf Khan Khalil, warned: "We have decided all trucks and oil-tankers - from Karachi to Khyber - will stop carrying consignments to Afghanistan if the police there don't mend their ways."

Meanwhile, Mohammad Azim Wardak, a senior official at the Trade Ministry in Kabul, acknowledged receiving grumbles of bribery against policemen. However, he added, the money illegally obtained from Pakistani drivers ended up in pockets of corrupt officials and gunmen.

Destruction of shacks sparks protest in Kabul

By Habib Rahman Ibrahimi

KABUL, July 27 (Pajwhok Afghan News): Around 200 shack and kiosk owners staged a demonstration here on Wednesday to condemn what they called highhandedness of the Kabul municipality and traffic police in destroying their make-shift shops.

The protestors, who blocked busy roads in the city center, chanted slogans against the municipal authorities and traffic police. "Death on traffic police and death on Kabul mayor," they cried in unison.

In a ringing denunciation of the anti-encroachment drive, the small-time shopkeepers complained traffic had inflicted a loss of 20,000 afghanis on each one of them. "We have sunk the money into Kabul River (on whose side the metal cabins were set up)," said the demonstrators, who claimed the municipality had allowed them a month ago to construct shacks on the Shah Do Shamshira Road.

"My father died two years ago and now I am the only bread-winner in the family. The traffic police threw the metal and wood of my shop into the river," lamented a nine-years-old Sher Agha, with tears welling up in his eyes.

Ghulam Jilani, another protestor, showed newsmen the municipality-issued documents allowing him to build a cabin. "The municipality has no the right to cause me a loss of 20,000 Afs," he contended.

But an official of the Second Police District, present at the scene, admitted traffic police had flung the building materials into the river after razing the shacks in a pre-dawn operation against encroachments.

Speaking to Pajhwok Afghan News, Traffic Police chief Gen Abdul Shakoor Khairkhwah insisted the cabins had been built in violation of relevant rules and without any approval from the municipality.

"We will never destroy shacks or shops set up in accordance with a plan approved by the traffic and municipality," Khairkhwah added. A month back, municipality officials said they planned to move the roadside shacks to other areas.

300 telephone booths to be operational soon

By: Mustafa Basharat

KABUL, July 27

(Pajhwok Afghan News)

The 300 telephone booths established by the Communication Ministry at different spots in the central capital would start functioning in a week.

Abdul Hadi Hadi, spokesman for the ministry, told Pajhwok Afghan News on Wednesday of the 300 calling points, 150 had been established in busy markets while the remaining in other populated areas.

He said calling cards worth 250 and 500 afghani would be used to make calls from the booths. A call to digital and cell phone number will consume one and five Afghanis per minute respectively. The system has been operationalized by a US company at the cost of $200.

A number of people have lauded the opening of the calling booths, saying they would save them time as well as money in terms of local and international call expenses.

Mohammad Naveed, an employee of the Afghanistan's Central Bank, said it would help those people who could not afford a mobile set. Yar Mohammad, a shopkeeper in the Asmai Wat, said they had to tread a long distance to make a call from a PCO.

The calling booth system has been launched at a time when two private mobile companies in the name of Afghan Wireless Communication Company (AWCC) and Roshan are providing services across the country.

Pak-Afghan border trade route reopens

By: Pakhtun Sahar

ISLAMABAD, July 27 (Pajhwok Afghan News): The Pak-Afghan border near the troubled semiautonomous tribal region of Wana in South Waziristan Agency (NWFP) has reopened for trade.

Apart from the inhospitable mountain passages frequented by smugglers, there are at least three routes - Lwara Mandi, Zawara and Ghulam Khan - used for transportation of goods and people between the two countries.

Some weeks back, the Wana road had had been closed owing to military operations against terrorists hiding in the restive tribal region, lying cheek by jowl with the Pak-Afghan frontier.

South Waziristan Agency Political Agent Laiq Hussain told Pajhwok Afghan News on Wednesday the route had been reopened on persistent demands from the locals. The decision would help resolve residents' economic problems, he added.

Speaking to this reporter by telephone from Wana, the political agent observed: "The local economy is directly linked to trade with Afghanistan and the closure of the route thus landed the locals in deep trouble."

After the reopening of the road, he vowed, genuine traders alone would be allowed to do business across the frontier. Elements abetting cross-border terrorism and smuggling would remain under a round-the-clock vigil, he maintained.

Wana inhabitant Malik Farhad said local traders had suffered huge losses this year because of a series of crackdowns on miscreants hiding in the region. At times, entire markets were sealed by authorities as part of economic sanctions imposed on tribesmen for allegedly sheltering terror suspects.

Pakistan donates Rs25m food items to Afghanistan

By: Pakhtun Sahar

ISLAMABAD, July 26

(Pajhwok Afghan News)

Pakistan has provided 42 truckloads of food items worth Rs25 million to Afghan authorities in Quetta, provincial capital of the Balochistan province, on Monday.

The aid package including flour, sugar, pulses, spices and biscuits, would be transported to Kandahar for onward distribution among deserving people, said a Pakistan's Foreign Ministry official Mohammad Arshad while handing over the items to Afghan Consul General Mohammad Ali Babak.

Speaking on the occasion, the official pledged his country would continue supporting the Afghan brethren. He said the recent help had been extended keeping in view food requirements of the Afghan people.

He said they had given a similar aid package earlier and would continue to extend a helping hand to the people of Afghanistan in future as well.

Afghan Consul General in Quetta, Mohammad Ali Babak, thanked the government of Pakistan for its generous support. He hoped it would further strengthen the brotherly ties between the neighbors.

The food items, he said, would be distributed among deserving families. It is pertinent to recall that Pakistan's Premier Shaukat Aziz, during his Kabul visit on July 24, had announced $100 million aid for Kabul.

India's ORG Informatics unit gets $15 mln contract

BOMBAY, July 25

(Reuters)

ORG Telecom Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of ORG Informatics Ltd. , said on Monday it has won a $15 million contract to provide VSAT services to Monaco Telecom and Roshan of Afghanistan. Roshan, TDCA is the Telecom Development Company of Afghanistan.

The contract is for a period of five years, the company said in a notice to the stock exchange in Bombay.

Pakistan to trim ATT negative list

Dawn

By Mubarak Zeb Khan

ISLAMABAD, July 25

Pakistan has decided to withdraw three items - tyres and tubes, television sets and its parts and telephone sets - from the negative list under the Afghan Transit Trade (ATT) agreement.

Secretary Commerce Tasneem Noorani told Dawn on Monday that the exclusion of the items from the negative list would be notified by the Central Board of Revenue (CBR) shortly.

After the withdrawal of these items, the items ATT negative list would be reduced to three cooking oil, cigarettes and auto parts from 24.

Replying to a question he said that Pakistan had withdrawn its proposal of seeking zero customs duty on exportable products to Afghanistan, which, he added might become attractive for smuggling back into Pakistan.

The decision among others was taken at the Fifth Session of Pakistan-Afghanistan Joint Economic Commission (JEC) which was co-chaired by Adviser to the Prime Minister on Finance and Revenue Dr Salman Shah and Afghanistan Minister for Finance Dr Anwar-ul-Haq Ahadi in Kabul recently.

An official announcement of the Economic Affairs Division (EAD) said that during the JEC both the countries decided to take effective steps to further improve business-to-business interaction and enhance bilateral trade through further streamlining of procedures, holding single country exhibitions and establishment of joint chambers of commerce and industry.

Both sides agreed to constitute Pak-Afghan Joint Custom Committee to examine issues relating to trade and transit. The committee would submit proposals for appropriate solutions.

Pakistan will establish 12 custom stations on Pak-Afghan border and state-of ?the-art facilities are being set up at Torkham and Chaman for trade facilitation and speedy clearance.

Both the sides also agreed that efforts would be made to improve network of roads including Torkham-Jalalabad road to provide trade access to Central Asia through Afghanistan. It was also agreed to establish a joint committee to ensure prompt implementation of decision of the JEC. Pakistani committee would include four officers one each joint secretaries of EAD and Commerce, chief CBR and DG Planning Commission.

Pakistani delegation offered that it would explore the possibility of establishing industrial parks in Afghanistan and on the Pak-Afghan border. Both the countries agreed to establish joint ventures in value-added and agro based industries.

The Afghan side requested for training of Afghan police personnel, postal workers and staff of audit and accounts in Pakistan, which was accepted and the Afghan authorities were asked to convey their requirements for the purpose.

The Afghan government acknowledged that transportation and handling of Afghan transit goods had considerably improved during the last three years.

The JEC was informed that $49.926 million had been utilized out of $100 million development assistance announced by Pakistan in 2002 for the reconstruction and rehabilitation of Afghanistan.

Pakistan delegation gave progress on various projects like Chaman-Kandahar Railway Line, Rehabilitation of Turkham-Jalalabad Road, Ghulam Khan Khost Road, Power Transmission lines to Khost, provision of 200 trucks, 100 buses, 38 ambulances, assistance to Kabul University, rehabilitation of schools, faculty block in Bulkh University, Mazar-e-Sharif and Kidney Centre at Jalalabad. The technical sessions was co-chaired by Secretary Economic Affairs Division, Khalid Saeed and Afghan Deputy Minister for Finance Asad Sakhi Farhad.

Islamabad announces $100m grant for Kabul; Pak-Afghan investment pact inked

Pajhwok Afghan News

07/25/2005

By Daud Khattak

[Printer Friendly Version]

KABUL - Pakistan and Afghanistan Sunday singed an investment protection treaty, as Islamabad announced a grant of $100 million for Kabul as a gesture of goodwill and friendship between the neighbors.

At a joint media appearance following two hours of talks at the sprawling presidential palace here, visiting Pakistani Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz and Afghan leader Hamid Karzai said the two sides had reached an agreement on operating Kabul-Peshawar and Kabul-Quetta flights.

Without giving a clear timeframe for the commencement of these flights, Shaukat Aziz told media-people they had also agreed on laying a railway track linking Balochistan town of Chaman with the Spin Boldak district of Kandahar.

Under the investment protection treaty, Aziz said, Pakistani and Afghan entrepreneurs would enjoy complete security of their capital poured into projects in both countries. In the main, the accord is aimed at boosting investor confidence and bilateral trade.

Before the two leaders spoke to journalists, the Joint Economic Commission (JEC) also wrapped up a meeting they billed as highly successful and result-oriented. The commission conferred on a number of trade issues including the Afghan Transit Trade.

With regard to the official-level negotiations preceding the media engagement, Karzai said he had discussed with the visiting dignitary two-way cooperation in diverse fields including the war on terror, refugee affairs, role of the Ummah, OIC, UN and transit trade issues. He profoundly lauded Aziz's economic vision acknowledged globally.

Describing his meeting with the Afghan president as comprehensive and fruitful, Shaukat Aziz observed the two countries had a 'common heritage' and 'shared destiny.' Afghanistan and Pakistan were partners in the war on terror to win peace for their peoples, he added.

Commenting on peace in the war-ravaged country, Shaukat argued a stable and strong Afghanistan was not only in the interest of its neighbors, it was equally important for the rest of the world as well.

In response to a question about increasing incidents of terrorism and attacks in Afghanistan, Hamid Karzai said the violence posed a threat to peace in both the countries. He likened Pakistan and Afghanistan to Siamese twins, contending harm to one country was bound to have debilitating effects on the other.

He regretted a lot of damage had been caused by the militant violence over the last three months. "We have discussed the issue in detail and agreed on how to build and develop confidence between the two countries."

Karzai went on to point out that his government had enacted laws safeguarding foreign investment. He acknowledged a lot of capital had been injected into Afghanistan by Pakistani investors and his government would welcome further investment not only from Pakistan but other neighboring countries as well.

On the recent attacks in London, the Afghan president dispelled the impression that terrorism was linked to Islam. "Rather, it's Islam which is the victim of terrorism." The elements using Islam as a smokescreen for their criminal acts were extremists having no connection to the great religion, he continued.

"Those who are burning schools and killing religious scholars cannot be called Muslims," Karzai said, adding Afghanistan was the first victim of terrorism and aggression from the former Soviet Union.

Speaking on the issue, Shaukat Aziz said Islam being a religion of peace and harmony has no room for extremism. Muslims all over the world wanted to live in peace with other communities, he insisted.

On the scourge of terrorism, the Pakistani dignitary said: "We have shared objectives, sense of purpose and common destiny. People of both countries are peace-loving and their governments should jointly work against terrorists."

Asked if Pakistan was taking measures to seal its border to stop the entry of terrorists into Afghanistan, Aziz promised his country would do whatever it could to banish the threat. The border was manned

Carpet industry face problems in Herat

By: Ahmad Quraishi

HERAT CITY,

July 25

(Pajhwok Afghan News)

The prices of carpets and rugs have recorded a sharp upward trend in the western Herat province as a number of weavers switched over to other jobs due to increase in raw material used in carpet weaving.

According to representatives of the carpet weaver union, most of the weavers including children, teenagers and women have abandoned the profession due to increase in prices of raw material.

Haji Abdullah Shendandi, a weaver, told Pajhwok Afghan News the carpets they prepared cost 1,000 afghani last year but the amount now shoots up to 1,500 this year.

He added one kilogram of thread used in carpet making was now sold for 120 afghani as compared to 100 afghani last year. Besides, Belgian thread has not been imported this year owing to 150 per cent increase in its prices.

About 65,000 people most of them women, are earning their bread by sticking to this profession. They prepare rugs ranging from six to 12 meters.

Anar Gul (52), a carpet weaver from the Rabat Sangi district said: "The increase in prices of raw material has compelled them to say farewell to our years-long profession. "He said they were unable to earn two time meal by sticking to this job."

Fatima, a young woman from Shindand district, suggested their problem would be solved if the government erected a thread factory in Afghanistan.

When asked for comments, Zabihullah, a merchant, termed the weavers responsible for the increase in prices, saying they were using foreign thread instead of the domestic. He said the thread they use in carpet weaving is imported from Iran, which was comparatively costly.

Shindandi, the weavers' union representative informed monthly carpet production in Herat stood at 150,000 square meters generating huge sum of revenue for the country. However, he said huge quantity of the carpet is being smuggled to Pakistan, which was harming the industry as well as the country.

He said it was one of the most revenue generating sector earning $72 millions of income per year. During the past four months, he said, carpet exports of the province stood at $24 million. He demanded government's patronage for further grooming of the industry in the province.

It merits a mention here that Herat produces the best quality carpets, Malaki, which got first award during carpet exhibition in Dubai.

Pakistan, Afghanistan Sign Investment Protection Treaty

KABUL, July 25

Asia Pulse

Pakistan and Afghanistan Sunday singed an investment protection treaty, as Islamabad announced a grant of US$100 million for Kabul as a gesture of goodwill and friendship between the neighbors.

Before the two leaders spoke to journalists, the Joint Economic Commission (JEC) also wrapped up a meeting they billed as highly successful and result-oriented.

The commission conferred on a number of trade issues including the Afghan Transit Trade.

Describing his meeting with the Afghan president as comprehensive and fruitful, Shaukat Aziz observed the two countries had a 'common heritage' and 'shared destiny.'

Afghanistan and Pakistan were partners in the war on terror to win peace for their peoples, he added. Commenting on peace in the war-ravaged country, Shaukat argued a stable and strong Afghanistan was not only in the interest of its neighbors, it was equally important for the rest of the world as well.

In response to a question about increasing incidents of terrorism and attacks in Afghanistan, Hamid Karzai said the violence posed a threat to peace in both the countries.

He likened Pakistan and Afghanistan to Siamese twins, contending harm to one country was bound to have debilitating effects on the other. He regretted a lot of damage had been caused by the militant violence over the last three months. "We have discussed the issue in detail and agreed on how to build and develop confidence between the two countries."

On the recent attacks in London, the Afghan president dispelled the impression that terrorism was linked to Islam. "Rather, it's Islam which is the victim of terrorism."

The elements using Islam as a smokescreen for their criminal acts were extremists having no connection to the great religion, he continued.

"Those who are burning schools and killing religious scholars cannot be called Muslims," Karzai said, adding Afghanistan was the first victim of terrorism and aggression from the former Soviet Union.

Speaking on the issue, Shaukat Aziz said Islam being a religion of peace and harmony has no room for extremism. Muslims all over the world wanted to live in peace with other communities, he insisted.

Where Streets Have No Name

Institute for War & Peace Repor

By Abdul Baseer Saeed and Amanullah Nasrat in Kabul

(ARR No. 179, 22-Jul-05)

Finding your way around Kabul can be tricky, but that may change soon. There?s no poultry on Chicken Street, and Flower Street sells more pirate videos than blossoms. And the Flower Street Caf?is actually located on the other side of the city.

But even these confusing designations are an improvement on the great mass of Kabul roads, which have no names whatsoever.

?Sometimes when we get called out to a fire, we can?t find the address. We have to wait until we can see the smoke,? said Colonel Mohammad Kazim, who heads the disaster readiness office at Kabul?s fire department.

Fire trucks, mail carriers, taxi drivers and ordinary citizens are in the same boat when it comes to navigating the city?s chaotic streets. After two decades of conflict, parts of the capital are in ruins. And the most fundamental guides to location ? street names ? are conspicuously absent, often creating havoc in a city of well over three million people.

Although Mohammad Ayub, 45, a Kabul native, says that he still has a hard time finding his way around. ?One day a relative of mine in Kart-e-Now died and I was trying to go to his house. I left home at eight in the morning and looked for the house until noon, but I couldn?t find it,? said Ayub.

Small wonder. Most streets are known only by their proximity to landmarks or major intersections, and giving an address requires a certain amount of hand waving and high-decibel instruction. This can be a challenge for businesses and other professional organizations, since lengthy directions do not fit comfortably in the corner of a business card.

But now the government is finally taking steps to remedy the situation. Minister of Information and Culture Sayed Makhdum Raheen said he planned the street-names project himself.

?Afghanistan has 34 provinces, so each one will have a street named after it,? he said. ?The names of poets from before 1919 will also be used.? There will be exceptions, however.

According to Raheen, Mohammad Zahir Shah, who was king of Afghanistan from

1933 to 1973 and now has the title Father of the Nation, will have his own street. But so will his cousin Sardar Mohammad Daud Khan, who overthrew him and ruled until the communist takeover in 1978.

Politics intrudes on every aspect of life in Afghanistan, and street naming is rife with the potential for conflict. Raheen should expect that whatever names are assigned to the city?s thoroughfares will prove controversial.

Ahmad Shah Massoud, the mujahedin leader turned civil war commander, has his own street - Great Massoud Road - where the American embassy is located.

Massoud?s assassination two days before the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States earned him martyr status among part of Afghanistan?s population - but others revile him as a warlord who helped reduce Kabul to rubble. His ubiquitous photos are often defaced, and many city residents refuse to call the street by its given name.

Haji Qadir, a former vice-president and military commander, who was assassinated in 2002, has his own crossroads. Qadir?s legacy is also disputed. In his native Jalalabad, he is buried alongside of King Amanullah, who ruled in the Twenties but died in 1960. This has so offended some Afghans that they have repeatedly tried to blow up his tomb.

There has been talk in the presidential administration that a road is to be named in honor of Abdul Ali Mazari, a commander who led the main ethnic Hazara faction, Hezb-e-Wahdat, but the Kabul municipality insists no such plans are afoot.

Mohammad Ayub laughed when IWPR told him about the project. ?If the streets are named after the murderers of the Afghan people, like some crossroads in Kabul have already been, it would be better if they remained nameless,? he said.

The street-naming project will cost money but no one is forthcoming about the details. ?So far we have 172 signs ready to set up on the streets,? said Mohammad Zahir Rezayee, a senior official with Kabul municipality. ?Each sign cost the municipality 18 [US] dollars, and the total comes to 3,096 dollars.?

He added that the International Security and Assistance Force, ISAF, has set up 500 signs at a cost of 10,000 dollars in Kabul?s 11th and 15th districts two months ago. Rezayee declined to give the overall budget figure allocated for street naming. Meanwhile, Kabul residents and visitors alike are struggling to find their way.

Gulab, 50, has come from his native Baghlan province to Kabul for medical treatment, and has had to stay in a hotel for a week because he was unable to find his nephew?s house in western Kabul. ?If the streets and crossroads were named, I wouldn?t have this problem,? he said. ?I?ve spent all my money on this hotel.?

Taxi drivers also have a hard time coping. Mohammad Wali, a Kabul cabbie, says most of his passengers give him directions rather than addresses. ?Since the streets don?t have specific names, it is difficult to set the fare in advance,? he said.

Afghan businessmen seek end to bribes demanded by Pakistani customs

Source: Afghanistan Television, Kabul - BBC

By: Television Afghanistan, Kabul, in Dari 1430 gmt

23 Jul 05

The Pakistan-Afghanistan Joint Economic Commission met in Kabul today.

According to a report from Bakhtar Information Agency, at this meeting Afghan businessmen asked Pakistani officials to instruct security officials not to ask Afghan businessmen for illegal payments when they transport their goods from Pakistan to Afghanistan. A number of businessmen said that on the Torkham-Peshawar Highway, Pakistani checkpoints demand 9,000 [Pakistani] rupees [approximately 151 dollars] per truck of goods belonging to Afghan businessmen and this is both illegal and unjustified. They also said that according to agreements between the two countries, Pakistani customs officials should keep merchants' goods in containers in proper conditions. However, the goods belonging to Afghan businessmen are not kept in the proper conditions at customs compounds. The Pakistani delegation, consisting of 10 officials, and Afghan officials promised to take the necessary steps to resolve these problems.

During this meeting, the deputy finance minister and officials from the Commerce Ministry also spoke about the facilities provided for domestic and foreign investors and businessmen in Afghanistan.

This commission meets every three months in Pakistan or Afghanistan to look into the problems of businessmen and to take the necessary action to resolve their problems.

Pakistan to ask Kabul for zero-rated export duty

IRNA (Iran)

23 July 2005

Islamabad: Pakistan will ask Afghan government to impose zero-rated duty on its products in response to Kabul's demand for reducing items from the negative list under Afghan Transit Trade agreement.

Pakistan could only reduce items from the list under ATT if Kabul reciprocated in terms of providing incentives to Islamabad, the daily Nation reported on Saturday.

The details of the matter would be worked out at the two-day joint ministerial commission meeting, concluding on Sunday, the report added.

Some agreements are expected to be signed during Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz's day-long visit to Kabul on July 24 on expansion of economic cooperation and boosting trade ties.

Important Pak-Afghan trade pacts on the cards

By: Zubair Babakarkhel

KABUL, July 23

(Pajhwok Afghan News)

Pakistan and Afghanistan are expected to ink key agreements in areas of transit trade, customs duty and bus links during Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz's visit to Kabul, officials said here on Saturday.

Zafar Ali Khan, a senior official at the Pakistan Embassy here, hinted at the signing of the accords in a brief chat with Pajhwok Afghan News regarding the prime ministerial trip to this capital city.

He said Shaukat Aziz, scheduled to arrive in Kabul on Sunday, and his entourage would meet Afghan President Hamid Karzai and Father of the Nation Mohammad Zahir Shah on issues of bilateral interest to the two countries.

According to Aziz Shams, spokesman for the Finance Ministry here, a delegation would arrive later on Saturday to participate in a meeting of the Joint Economic Commission (JEC), founded some 18 months back.

The team is likely to wrap up a number of deals on economic issues including items exported to Afghanistan under the transit trade agreement and custom duties at talks with the host officials. "After the arrival of Shaukat Aziz, his advisor Dr. Salman Shah and Afghan Finance Minister Anwar ul Haq Ahadi will initial the deals," Shams revealed.

Well-placed sources confided to this scribe the Pakistan government might also announce a reversal of its decision on deleting six items including foodstuffs from the Afghan transit trade list.

The articles struck off the transit trade list are cooking oils, cigarettes, automobile spares, tyres, television and telephone sets, which Islamabad complains are smuggled back to Pakistani markets.

The JEC session is expected to give the go-ahead to plans for a cross-border bus service between Quetta and Kandahar and Peshawar and Jalalabad. The bus link is a longstanding public demand on both sides of the frontier.

Globecomm Systems Awarded One Year Service Contract from the Afghanistan Ministry of Communications to Carry Internet and Voice Services Traffic

Friday July 22 2005

HAUPPAUGE, N.Y.(BUSINESS WIRE)

July 22, 2005-Globecomm Systems Inc.

(NASDAQ: GCOM-News), a global provider of end-to-end value-added satellite-based communications solutions, today announced that the Company's wholly-owned subsidiary, Globecomm Network Services Corporation (GNSC), has been awarded a one year service contract extension from the Afghanistan Ministry of Communications (MOC) to provide teleport services to carry Internet and Voice Over Internet Protocol traffic (VoIP).

GNSC will utilize a partnering teleport in Hong Kong and GNSC's global voice solution to service the MOC. GNSC continues to build a customer base of emerging voice carriers around the world and is building a reputation as a premier turnkey outsourced global service provider.

VoIP telephone calls can be placed either to other VoIP devices, or to traditional telephones on the public switch telephone network (PSTN).

Globecomm has three major PSTN carriers connected to the Company's world-class headquarters on Long Island, N.Y. VoIP routers are programmed to search for the highest quality voice route available at the time, which is designed for each specific customers requirements. This business model is significantly different than a traditional "pure-play" VoIP company where the routes are historically based on price and not necessarily the best quality.

David Hershberg, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of Globecomm Systems Inc., said, "Globecomm's investment in GNSC infrastructure continues to pay dividends. As new IP networks are deployed and the quality of the calls continues to improve, the migration to VoIP is a natural progression."

About Globecomm Systems

Globecomm Systems Inc. provides end-to-end value-added satellite-based communication solutions by leveraging its core satellite ground segment systems and network capabilities, with satellite communication services capabilities. The solutions Globecomm offers include general contracted complex communications networks, militarized commercial off the shelf products and services, voice over Internet Protocol (VOIP), video broadcast, business recovery, satellite-based terrestrial restoral, content delivery and other networks on a global basis. Globecomm's customers include communications service providers, commercial enterprises, Internet Service Providers, content providers and government entities.

Based in Hauppauge, New York, Globecomm Systems also maintains offices in Washington D.C., Hong Kong, the United Kingdom and the United Arab Emirates.

Oil supply restored

Dawn

LANDI KOTAL (Khyber Agency)

July 22

Oil supply to Afghanistan has been restored after oil tanker drivers ended their two-week strike. Around 50 oil tankers crossed over to Afghanistan on Thursday after getting clearance from customs authorities in Torkham. More than 300 protesting oil tanker drivers had parked their vehicles along the Peshawar-Torkham highway at different locations.

The drivers went on a strike on July 11 when around 100 oil tankers were stopped by Afghan officials at Latha Bund inside Afghanistan, citing bad condition of the alternative road to Kabul. The main Kabul-Jalalabad road has been closed for reconstruction.

Representatives of oil tanker drivers accused the Afghan official of demanding bribes and beating some drivers.

Babu Khan, a representative of the drivers, told Dawn that the strike was called off after an assurance by the contractors of oil supplying companies that they would be compensated for their losses and paid additional route expenses.

He, however, regretted that they did not get any support and assistance from the Afghan government.

Elections to be 'last stand' for Afghan insurgents

Fri Jul 22, 1:16 AM ET

OTTAWA (AFP)

The upcoming elections in Afghanistan in September will likely be the last opportunity for insurgents to stop or delay progress leading to the country's rebirth, Canadian military officials said.

"I believe their intent is to destabilize the elections that will take place in September. And there are certainly indications that this is their last stand," said Colonel Steven Noonan, who will be in charge of relocating Canada's base in the region from Kabul to Kandahar in the coming months. "If the elections go on successfully on the 18th of September, that will be a strategic failure on their part," he said on Thursday.

Noonan refused to divulge the information that led him to this conclusion.

Later this month, 250 Canadian soldiers will travel to Kandahar in southern Afghanistan to form a so-called provincial reconstruction team (PRT), building ties with local officials and helping in the reconstruction of the war-torn region. They will be joined later by 700 soldiers who will provide security for the general election in September.

Thereafter, they will link up with the PRT and 1,100 more Canadian soldiers, who will, as part of a Canadian-led multinational force, hunt down any remaining former Taliban members and Al-Qaeda supporters in early 2006.

They will also be joined by Canada's secretive commando unit Joint Task Force Two, officials told AFP.

Meanwhile, Canada will double its embassy staff in Kabul to 12 and will send 10 Royal Canadian Mounted Police to help train local police.

Several companies have asked to start investing in the country, offering to build hotels, open mines and begin commercial flights, but the situation is still deemed too dangerous, senior officials said.

Britain pledges $350m in aid to Afghanistan

By: Lailuma Sadid

KABUL, July 21

(Pajhwok Afghan News)

Britain has pledged $350 million in aid for reconstruction in the war-ravaged Afghanistan. A British Embassy statement released here on Thursday states the aid was announced following a meeting between Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai and British Secretary of State for International Development Hilary Benn on Wednesday.

The amount will be spent on paying salaries to government employees, improving condition of schools, hospitals and a number of other public facilities.

The finance ministry said its development expenditures for the current fiscal year stood at $704 million, which would be financed by foreign donors. President Hamid Karzai, who has now arrived in Italy after visiting London, had also signed an Enduring Relationship Agreement with Britain.

The statement said aim of the agreement was to promote close cooperation between the two countries and support reconstruction in Afghanistan.

As part of the aid, $22 million will be spent on upgrading working capacity of organizations combating drugs in Afghanistan, Benn was quoted as saying in the statement.

Afghanistan to build 30 airports in three years

By: Habibur Rahman Ibrahimi

KABUL, July 21

(Pajhwok Afghan News)

Thirty Afghan provinces across the country will get their own airports during the next three years. Besides, the Kabul, Nangarhar, Balkh, Herat and Kandahar airports will be renovated and reconstructed to bring them on a par with international standards, said Transport Minister Inayatullah Qasmi.

In an exclusive interview with Pajhwok Afghan News here on Thursday, the minister informed construction agreements of 18 airports had already been inked with different companies, while contracts for the remaining would be signed in near future.

He said loans had been received from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for construction of the airports.

In the first phase, he revealed, construction work would be initiated on Faizabad, Maimana, Bamyan, Chaghcheran, Zaranj, Farah and Qilla Naw airports.

He said during his last week's visit to Balkh, Samangan, Baghlan, Bamyan, Wardag and Ghazni provinces, people had registered gripes regarding transport problems being faced by them.

He said transport problems in the central capital had been overcome to some extent, adding the ministry was planning to give more buses to Herat, Kandahar, Mazar-i-Sharif and Jalalabad, the most populated cities.

He recalled the Indian government's pledge regarding 200 mini-buses, saying if handed over; it would solve transport problems in many districts and cities.

More Pak bank branches in Afghanistan urged

By: Pakhtun Sahar & Zainab Mohammadi

July 21

(Pajhwok Afghan News)

Pakistani traders and businessmen have demanded opening of Pakistani banks' branches in all big cities of Afghanistan to boost trade with that country.

Zahidullah Khan Shinwari, an official at the provincial trade department, told Pajhwok Afghan News some Pakistani banks had already opened their branches in Kabul.

He agreed such branches must also be set up in other big cities like Mazar-i-Sharif and Herat to promote bilateral trade and strengthen economic ties between the two countries.

A senior official of the National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) in Kabul Mohammad Younas told this news agency they had branches of the bank in Kabul and Jalalabad. Another branch of the NBP would be opened in Kandahar shortly. "We are in contact with the Afghan government and its central bank on opening more branches in big cities in the near future," Younas informed.

A senior official of Pakistan's Habib Bank in Islamabad told this scribe they were ready to open branches of their banks in different cities of Afghanistan if the government allowed them.

A merchant, Fazlur Rehman, said they faced problems in moving from one city to another with money in hand. "Our problem will be solved up to a large extent if Pakistani banks open branches in other cities as well."

In a chat with this news agency, the Tajik Traders owner said they used to export dry fruit via Pakistan to other countries. But after tax concession announced by New Delhi, the produce was now being exported to India.

He said Pakistan had suffered million of dollars losses due to the shift. He demanded a tax waiver from Pakistan on imports from Afghanistan to increase the volume of trade.

Gwadar port to stimulate Pak-Afghan trade

By: Pakhtun Sahar

ISLAMABAD, July 21

(Pajhwok Afghan News)

Islamabad is optimistic of a substantial upsurge in the Pak-Afghan trade volume with the construction of a sea-port in Balochistan coastal city of Gwadar.

Pakistan's Communication Minister Shamim Siddiqi Thursday asserted bilateral trade between the neighbors would account for billions of dollars once the sea-port was completed in the province bordering Afghanistan.

In an exclusive interview with Pajhwok Afghan News, the minister hoped the port, 450 kilometers from Karachi, would also lend a fillip to Pakistan's trade links with the Central Asian republics. "Pakistan, exporting building materials, foodstuffs and other daily-use items to Afghanistan, is playing a proactive role in the rebuilding of that country," he claimed, promising all possible facilities for Afghan entrepreneurs.

Siddiqui added the completion of roads in Gwadar would enormously benefit Afghanistan in terms of forging deeper trade relations with Pakistan, China, Iran, India and Middle Eastern countries.

He was of the opinion the Gwadar port would make Afghanistan a commercial hub in the region on the one hand and translate into better trade prospects for Central Asian states on the other.? We invite Afghanistan to make us of the enabling economic environment here and accord Pakistan the most favored nation status," observed the minister, who concluded Kabul would dispassionately analyze the business opportunities his country offered.

The mega project is being executed on a fast-track basis despite stout opposition from Baloch nationalist leaders, who allege the port would bring no concrete gains to the local people.

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