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Press Review
Headlines
Iran may extend gas pipeline to Herat
More cell-phone companies to get licenses
Editorial - Paper Demands Lifting of Import
Restrictions Imposed by Pakistan on Afghan Goods
Another Afghan private television channel
goes on air
Food processing plant established in Parwan
Afghan party leader says government stifles
pluralism fails to improve economy
Project to help Afghanistan to import Uzbek
power
ADB helps improve Afghanistan air transport
system
Three-day handicraft exhibition begins in
Kabul
Power-Grid to execute Afghan project
Baghran Valley to receive $2.4 million for
reconstruction
Customs in a fix to regularize trade with
Afghanistan
Virgin Afghan market not for the faint of
heart
WB gives $25m credit for improving Kabul
infrastructure
300 phone booths start functioning in Kabul
Bank Alfalah to open branch in Kabul
Less capital
and lack of experience are the main barriers on the way of Afghan business
women
Press Clippings
Iran may extend gas
pipeline to Herat
By: Ahmad Ehsan Sarwaryar
HERAT CITY, August 17
(Pajhwok Afghan News)
An Iranian delegation Wednesday held talks
with provincial authorities on a proposed gas pipeline from Turbat-i-Jam to
the western Herat province.
Representatives of the Non-governmental Gas
Producer Association of Iran said they would launch the project following a
green signal from the Iranian government. The delegation said the Herat
officials would be informed in the next two weeks.
Speaking to Pajhwok Afghan News, Herat Mayor
Mohammad Rafiq Mujaddedi said the 13-member team called on Governor Syed
Hussain Anwary and expressed willingness to launch the project. He said the
two sides agreed on signing a formal agreement after the go ahead from the
gas and petroleum ministry of Iran.
Regarding completion period of the proposed
project, Mujaddedi said it would take one year after its launching and would
benefit residents of province.
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More cell-phone
companies to get licenses
By: Mustafa Basharat
KABUL, August 17
(Pajhwok Afghan News)
Five more cell-phone companies have expressed
their willingness to launch services in Afghanistan, officials told Pajhwok
Afghan News.
Al-Kozay, National Kam International, Watan
Mobile Company, and two firms from Germany and the United Arab Emirates
(UAE) are ready to launch operations in Afghanistan, where Roshan and the
Afghan Wireless Communication Company (AWCC) are already active.
Earlier, the Communication Ministry had
announced 80 companies were interested in getting licenses for launching
services in Afghanistan. But in the final analysis, five of them have
stepped forward to accept the government's terms and conditions.
In mid-June, the ministry had said the
government would permit two more mobile companies to function, on terms and
conditions different from those agreed with Roshan and AWCC.
Communication Minister Amirzai Sangeen,
speaking at a conference here the other day, said the ministry would accept
applications from more private companies after August 25. He added offers
given by the five cell-phone companies would be reviewed and only two would
be issued work licenses.
Companies with more experience, resources,
expertise in the field and readiness to pay greater profit shares to the
government would be allowed to operate, he continued, hoping the step would
increase domestic revenue besides spurring competition among entrepreneurs.
Regarding the existing number of Afghan
consumers, Sangeen said three per cent of the country's population used the
cell-phone facility while the number might go up in January next.
The AWCC and Roshan had paid $16 million to
the government, but the revenues would touch $50 million with the arrival of
more companies over the next five years, the minister reckoned.
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Editorial - Paper Demands Lifting of Import Restrictions Imposed by Pakistan
on Afghan Goods
(Etefaq-e Islam, Herat)
15 August 2005
According to the international law on
transport, Pakistan should help Afghan businessmen to transport their
commodities via Karachi harbor. According to this law and other
international conventions, landlocked countries can transfer their goods via
the sea without any import restrictions. However, the restrictions imposed
by Pakistan on the transfer of goods imported to Afghanistan, have concerned
Afghan businessmen and investors in the past years. Although Afghanistan and
Pakistan have signed many agreements over the past 60 years, according to
which, Afghan businessmen should have been able to transfer goods to
Afghanistan via the Karachi port free, the Pakistani government has
illogically banned the imports of hundreds of different products through
this harbor.
The Pakistani charge de' affairs to
Afghanistan says he has no information about his government's current
policy, and he categorically rejects any restriction imposed by his
government, especially following the recent visit by the Pakistani prime
minister to Afghanistan.
Afghan Trade Ministry officials argue that
all traders throughout the world can transfer their goods to landlocked
countries without paying taxes, in line with international transport laws.
But only after a long time did Pakistan allowed three types of merchandise
to be transported to Afghanistan.
After the downfall of the Taliban, Pakistan
earned over $1 billion by exporting second-hand products to Afghanistan and
this clearly shows the good-will of the Afghan government in establishing
mutual, bilateral cooperation with Pakistan. As a neighboring country,
therefore, Pakistan should permit Afghan businessmen import their goods
through Karachi harbor and honor its commitments based on international
conventions and transport laws.
Currently, some 200 Afghan businessmen are
complaining about the Pakistani government which, for 16 years, has been
imposing restrictions on imports of their goods and kept them in Karachi
port. Such a policy clearly runs counter to international laws. Although
Afghan trade officials claim that economic relations between the two
countries are profound and strong, these ties have been adversely affected
and undermined as a result of certain political challenges and
disagreements. While Afghanistan has only exported goods worth $10 million
to Pakistan [annually], the imports of old, second-hand products from
Pakistan have considerably increased.
The important thing for the people of the two
countries is that Pakistan should not sacrifice its trade relations for the
sake of political disputes, since the people of these two countries are
completely dependent on economic relations.
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Another
Afghan private television channel goes on air
Xinhua
15 August 2005
Another private television channel the Aryana
Television was inaugurated in the Afghan capital Monday evening bringing the
number of the small screen in the post- Taliban nation to four. Established
and financed by an Afghan-born American Ahsanullah Bayat, the Aryana
Television will broadcast political, economic, sport news, and entertainment
as well religious programs for several hours daily.
The channel currently covers the capital city
and would soon cover 16 provinces of Afghanistan's 34 provinces, according
to its chairman.
Speaking on the occasion, Bayat described the
new TV channel as independent and said the Aryana television has no link
with political parties or groups.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai in his message
read out at the ceremony termed the inauguration of Aryana television as
another step towards freedom of expression and strengthening democracy.
Three more private television channels namely
Aaina TV, Afghan TV and Tolo TV have already established in Afghanistan over
the past three years to compete the state-run national television.
After the collapse of the Taliban regime in
late 2001, the mushroom growth of print and electronic media begun in
Afghanistan and so far over 80 newspapers, weekly and magazines have been
publishing parallel to state-run media in the war-torn country.
During its six year-reign, the Taliban regime
had outlawed television, cinema and music as un-Islamic practice in
Afghanistan.
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Food processing plant
established in Parwan
By: Farid
Tanha & Frozan Danish Rahmani
CHARIKAR, August 15
(Pajhwok Afghan News)
A food processing plant in the central Parwan
province has been established with a $4 million aid from the United States
Agency for International Development (USAID).
Spread over an area of 10 acres,
establishment of the factory had created 10, 00 jobs and enabled the
Northern provinces to export fresh vegetables to other countries.
Engineer Haroon, an official of the project,
told Pajhwok Afghan News this was the first vegetable processing plant in
the country established by the USAID. He said vegetables like carrot and
tomato would be packed and processed in the plant for onward shipment to
international market.
The step, he said, would enable the country
to save huge quantity of vegetables from going rotten and earn reasonable
profit for the farmers. Earlier, the growers used to sell the produce at a
throwaway price or being exploited by traders for non-availability of any
such facility in the region.
He said the factory's work force comprised
400 women and remaining men including individuals who had joined the
UN-backed Disarmament Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR) program.
Haroon informed 40 per cent income so
generated would be shared with the farmers while the remaining 60 per cent
would be paid in term of salaries and other expenses.
Nooria Siddiqi, an employee at the
newly-established plant, told this news agency mostly war-widows had been
given jobs in the factory. She said they were happy to earn 150 Afghanis a
day to support their families.
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Afghan party leader says government stifles pluralism fails to improve
economy
Mashad Radio (Iran)
14 August 2005
The leader of the Freedom and Democracy
Movement of Afghanistan, Jawed Kohestani, has said that the current Afghan
government have stifled rather than encouraged political pluralism by
curbing the activities of political parties. He also criticized their
failure to devise an economic strategy for the country. The following is
excerpt from interview by Iranian radio from Mashhad on 13 August:
[Presenter] Dear listeners, you might be
aware that people had great expectations of the current Afghan government
after the presidential elections in Afghanistan and the establishment of the
elected government headed by Mr. Hamed Karzai.
The people of Afghanistan, who were fully
aware of their country's situation, which had been destroyed in various
spheres, including the political, cultural, economic and social fields,
expected their government to pay adequate attention to problems and resolve
them in a practical manner. It is also worth noting that the government was
formed with heavy [international] investment and assistance.
Nevertheless, Mr. Jawed Kohestani, leader of
the Freedom and Democracy Movement of Afghanistan, says in an interview with
the radio that the government has failed to expand its political activities.
He stated that Mr. Karzai's administration has not achieved success in the
field of politics and that officials have only chanted slogans. He sharply
criticized the government's failure to embark upon a proper, concrete policy
in terms of politics, social affairs, economy and culture. Let's listen to
an exclusive interview with this party leader.
[Kohestani] In view of the current situation,
the government has not done enough to set up development programs to advance
the country effectively in terms of culture and the economy. The government
has not initiated a specific policy to balance the country's improvement.
The Afghan cabinet is very weak and passive regarding the country's
construction. Cabinet members are unable to set up proper construction
projects and thus have failed to win the people's trust.
[Correspondent] Mr. Kohestani, in view of all
the talk of democratization, political development depends on the active
participation of political parties. Have political parties actively taken
part in the country's political activities? What is the Afghan government's
stance regarding this issue? Has the government ever paid attention to this?
[Kohestani] I can say that there has only
been talk of political development as nothing has been done in this regard.
Even Mr. Karzai has disapproved of the activities of political movements.
Therefore, it seems as though the government is playing with Afghanistan's
national interests. Besides, not enough attention is paid to political
parties. The only aim has been to restrict the activities of these parties.
This is because these parties are concerned about the current situation in
Afghanistan and do not agree with the policies cunningly and secretly set up
against the Afghan people. The people are not informed about the situation
at all. This shows that [the government] is not eager to develop political
parties or respect political pluralism. You are aware that parties were
severely threatened, not only in the run-up to the parliamentary elections
but also prior to this process.
The formation of political parties has turned
into a difficult issue. In order to create tension, the government and
possibly other countries have had a hand in ensuring a multiplicity of
political movements in a bid to prevent popular solidarity and to prevent
anyone getting strong enough to apply pressure to the government or really
challenge it.
[Correspondent] What programs has the
government set up to improve the economy and construction of the country's
infrastructure, which are essential to the Afghan people? Have there been
any positive changes to improve people's lives?
[Kohestani] One of the advantages of peace is
economic development, which improves people's lives. There has been relative
peace in the country over the past three years and we can see some changes.
However, the government and the international community have not played an
active part in these changes. That is, the government has not had a
transparent policy to revive the country's economic infrastructure. In the
past, the country's economy was mainly dependent on the government. But now,
economic systems are based on a free market, which is not strong enough to
improve people's lives. In other words, the Afghan administration does not
have a transparent economic program. Neither the public nor the private
sector is developed appropriately to improve the economy significantly.
There are still security problems and the
country is still suffering from administrative corruption. The government
and security departments do not support investors. There has not been any
specific investment inside the country. As a result, the country has not
improved in economic terms at all. The people together or individually have
accomplished a number of projects thanks to the fact there is relative
peace.
[Correspondent] What is the reason behind
this failure? Why is the government not able to set up proper, regular
programs to build the country's economic infrastructure?
[Kohestani] First, the important thing is
that the government's revenues are very low. The country is still unable to
depend upon its own income and economy. Second, the donor countries mainly
help NGOs, which work independently and invest in their own projects and do
not consult with the government. Third, the government does not have the
authority to control the country's economic projects effectively. That is
why the international community does not trust the government and only
donates a small portion of its funds to the government compared to the
amount it provides for other organizations. Most of the aid money is spent
on employing foreign staff rather than investing in economic projects.
One of the government's problems is that it
does not have any transparent national strategy, i.e. in the field of the
economy, social affairs and so on. I would argue that the government is very
weak and cannot even design a project in a small town. This problem can be
seen both in the administration and among donor countries. [Passage omitted:
cultural issues]
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Project to help
Afghanistan to import Uzbek power
UzReport.com
15.08.2005
State-run Power Grid Corporation of India
today entered into an agreement with Ministry of External Affairs for
executing a US$110 million transmission project in Afghanistan, Asia Pulse
reported.
The project is being financed by the central
government under the assistance program to Afghanistan and is scheduled for
completion by 2009, a Power Grid release said.
The project would enable the war-torn country
to import power from generating stations located in Uzbekistan to Kabul. It
comprises construction of a 202 km-long 220 KV double circuit transmission
line from Pul-e-Kumri to Kabul and new 220/110/20 KV substation in the
Afghan capital.
The transmission line will pass through
snow-bound tough hilly terrain with altitude ranging from 1800 meters to
4000 meters above sea level and temperatures as low as 30 degrees Celsius
below zero.
The material required for the project would
be transported from India to Afghanistan by sea route via Iran and
thereafter through 2500 km long land route, it said.
Power Grid has already completed route
alignment, survey and soil investigation work, the release said, adding
tenders for procurement of goods and services required for the project would
be finalized within a month.
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ADB helps
improve Afghanistan air transport system
Source: Xinhua
14/8/05
The Asian Development Bank Friday said that
it has approved a technical assistance (TA) grant of 1 million US dollars to
help improve Afghanistan's air transport system by boosting management of
the country's civil aviation administration.
The ADB said in a statement that the TA will
improve the air safety oversight of the Ministry of Transport (MOT) and
maintenance of a financial management system that will be developed to
enhance financial governance of airport operations.
The TA will help develop air safety
regulatory frameworks in coordination with other aid agencies, with the
ultimate goal of establishing an independent civil aviation authority, the
statement said.
It will also help draft a civil aviation act
that will remedy the deficiencies of the existing acts, as well as other
civil aviation regulations and safety orders needed, it added.
To address financial management problems
facing the sector, the TA will develop financial management systems for
airport operations.
"With air traffic growing in Afghanistan,
there is a pressing need to upgrade air safety oversight and financial
management," says Dong-Soo Pyo, an ADB Principal Financial Specialist.
According to the ADB, in the past two decades
of war, Afghanistan's civil aviation infrastructure was left in ruins.
As air traffic picks up along with the rapid
expansion of economic activities over the country, the issue of air safety
looms larger, while the capacity of MOT to address this is virtually
nonexistent, the bank said.
On the financial front, while revenue from
airport operations grows in tandem with increasing air traffic, the current
financial system employed does not provide reliable accounting, leading to
significant losses for the government, it added.
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Three-day
handicraft exhibition begins in Kabul
By: Zainab Mohaqiq
KABUL, August 14
(Pajhwok Afghan News)
A rich variety of traditional handicrafts
produced by Afghan women went on display at Bagh-i-Zanana here on Sunday,
with participants underlining the need for proper marketing of the products.
Women Affairs Ministry official Nooria Banwal
said 17 stalls at the exhibition - part of a comprehensive Independence Day
celebration program showcased more than 500 items including carpets,
embroidery and finery dexterously made by Afghan women.
Speaking to Pajhwok Afghan News, she said the
handcrafts - reflecting the skills of Turkmen and Hazara women - would be up
for sale till Tuesday. She added a large number of visitors flocked to the
stalls to see and purchase the deftly-crafted items.
In Afghan society, womenfolk have been
enormously supportive of men in generating family income through variegated
activities like sewing, needlework, embroidery, knitting and weaving.
The Afghan handicrafts are in great demand
worldwide, but a deficient marketing strategy is a major reason for their
being undervalued. Additionally, the handicrafts have failed to reach
potential markets for want of efficient export mechanisms.
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POWER GRID TO EXECUTE AFGHAN
PROJECT
The Statesman (India)
13 August 2005
State-run Power Grid Corporation today
entered into an agreement with the ministry of external affairs for
executing a Rs 479-crore transmission project in Afghanistan.
The project is being financed by the Centre
under the assistance program to Afghanistan and is scheduled for completion
by 2009, a Power Grid Press release said. The project would enable the
war-torn country to import power from generating stations located in
Uzbekistan to Kabul.
It comprises construction of a 202 km-long
220 KV double circuit transmission line from Pul-e-Kumri to Kabul and new
220/110/20 KV substation in the Afghan capital.
The transmission line will pass through
snow-bound tough hilly terrain with altitude ranging from 1800 meter to 4000
meter above sea level and temperatures as low as 30 degrees Celsius below
zero.
The material required for the project would
be transported from India to Afghanistan by sea route via Iran and
thereafter through 2500 km long land route, it said.
Power Grid has already completed route
alignment, survey and soil investigation work, the release said, adding
tenders for procurement of goods and services required for the project would
be finalized within a month.
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Baghran
Valley to receive $2.4 million for reconstruction
August 12, 2005
Combined Forces Command - Afghanistan
Coalition Press Information Center (Public Affairs)
BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan ? Baghran Valley
, once home to Taliban leader Mullah Omar, will receive more than $2 million
in U.S. reconstruction funds over the next six months.
$2.4 million will go toward projects in an
effort to bring peace, prosperity and security to the region once known as a
bastion of Taliban ideology. Projects include reconstruction of the area?s
most prominent Mosque, a new high school, road repair and equipping the
local police force with motorcycles.
The projects were announced during a recent
ground-breaking ceremony attended by a number of Afghan and U.S. officials.
During the ceremony, Provincial
Reconstruction Team Commander, U.S. Army Lt. Col. Jim Hogberg said, ?The
people of this valley have asked for our help and we?re delivering.? Hogberg
was accompanied by approximately 30 members of his reconstruction team. He
also congratulated the Afghan people for supporting their own peaceful
future and reminded them of the importance of voting in the upcoming
elections.
The provincial governor?s chief of staff and
numerous dignitaries from throughout the province attended the ceremony.
Afghan and U.S. officials distributed peace newspapers and free radios to
the crowd.
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Customs in a
fix to regularize trade with Afghanistan
The News International 12 Aug 05
Mohammad Ali Khan
PESHAWAR: Customs authorities are facing
difficulties in regularizing Pakistan?s trade with Afghanistan via some new
land routes owing to security reasons and ban on timber export by the Afghan
government, official sources told The News.
The CBR on December 30, 2004 had notified the
establishment of nine new customs stations at Nawa Pass (Bajur Agency),
Khapakh (Mohamand Agency), Terimengal (Kurram Agency), Kharlachi (Kurram
Agency), Sheedano Dand (Kurram Agency), Lawara Boya Datta Khel Road (North
Waziristan Agency), Angoor Ada (South Waziristan Agency), Khand Naral (South
Waziristan Agency) and Arandu Pass in Chitral district.
The main purpose of the stations was to deal
with the imports and exports between both the countries except goods on
which duty drawback is admissible and also to counter the smuggling of
different goods.
Out of nine so far five stations have been
established that included one each at Khapakh (Mohmand Agency) Nawa Pass (Bajur
Agency) and three at Terimengal, Kharlachi and Sheedano Dand, bordering
towns of Kurram Agency, an official of the Peshawar-based customs
collectorate told The News.
The newly established stations, according to
the official, have started partial functioning by clearing only export
goods, while the placement of staff and equipment on other proposed station
have also been completed but still they could not start proper functioning.
The official was of the view that the
authorities are facing difficulties in establishing stations at South and
North Waziristan agencies, the two most troubled tribal areas because of
ongoing massive military deployment and movement.
Referring to the station at Arndu Pass, the
official said the concept behind the establishment of customs station at
Arndu Pass and Khapakh was to regularise the illegal movement of timber from
Afghanistan. However, the Afghan government has banned the export of timber
that puts the viability of the stations in doubts, the official maintained.
The customs authorities are so far unable to
attract the traders to start their business via new land routes because of
lack of infrastructure and other facilities. Ziaul Haq Sarhadi, chairman
Frontier Customs Agents Group said the newly established stations were
lacking proper facilities that?s why most of the traders were unwilling to
use these routes. He was of the view that the government should further
improve the facilities at Torkham and Ghulam Khan customs stations instead
of opening new points.
Presently customs stations at Torkham, Ghulam
Khan and Chaman looking after country?s major trade with Afghanistan that is
on the rise as during last financial year the country?s overall export to
Afghanistan stood $ 1.166 billion that is $ 166 million higher than the set
target.
Similarly, Pakistan has imported from
Afghanistan goods amounting to Rs 3.488 billion during the last fiscal year
2004-05 against the imports of Rs 2.619 billion during 2003-04, indicating
an increase of Rs.869 million in the last fiscal year.
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Virgin Afghan
market not for the faint of heart
The Daily Star (Lebanon)
12 August 2005
At a news conference in Abu Dhabi last
spring, Helmut Panke, chairman of the board at German automotive giant BMW,
mentioned Afghanistan as one of the emerging markets the company is eyeing.
Since the toppling of the fundamentalist Taliban regime by U.S.-led forces,
Afghanistan's economy has surged, growing by 24 percent in 2003 and 19
percent in 2004.
International banks are opening branches,
small businesses are popping up, and Afghan expats are returning to their
war-scarred homeland. Average incomes in Afghanistan are estimated to have
doubled since 2001.This war-ravaged country with a population of 30 million
is certainly a virgin market, but not for the faint of heart.
Perhaps the foremost problem occupying Afghan
President Hamid Karzai, who won 55 percent of the vote in a landmark
election 10 months ago, is how to deal with the country's opium trade, which
reached record highs in 2004.
Other problems include a Taliban insurgency
in the country's rugged eastern and southern provinces, a weak national
army, lack of infrastructure, and corruption. If BMW decides to open its
doors in Kabul, the environment will be difficult. Because of mass flight
from decades of war, skilled workers are hard to find. Transportation is
severely limited and electricity is spotty. Many of the country's laws and
regulations date back to the Soviet era.
Afghan officials have been pleading for more
foreign investment to add to the aid that is pouring in. With the U.S.
giving about a billion dollars per year, the Karzai government is hoping
private sector growth can eventually end the country's reliance on foreign
grants.
So far, foreign companies have invested about
$100 million, mostly in hotels and telecommunications. Afghanistan's finance
minister has set a target of attracting $15 billion in private-sector
investment, a figure that would turn the country into a regional commercial
hub.
Narcotics remain the country's thorniest
problem: according to some estimates, opium accounts for 60 percent of the
country's GDP. Afghanistan, says an IMF estimate, accounts for 90 percent of
the world opium trade.
Drug money, while boosting incomes of many of
Afghanistan's poor, can be a development nightmare. Warlords who manage the
trade perpetuate the country's problem with insecurity, fragmentation, and
lawlessness.
There's no shortage of international help to
deal with the problem, with the United States investing $780 million toward
counter narcotics in Afghanistan, with $100 million of that going toward
eradication.
Britain has also put up $130 million to try
to stop trafficking. While significant, the money still can't match the
billions generated by the warlords running the trade. The most important
question, however, is not whether the Karzai government can stop narcotics,
but whether it really wants to.
In many ways, the U.S.-backed president has
his hands tied. Overly aggressive aerial spraying would surely kick up a
political fury. Even if eradication succeeded, the result would be a
crippling of the country's economy.
One solution may be government programs to
encourage and fund alternate crops such as saffron and wheat. Despite fat
was issued against drug production, farmers are reluctant to switch crops,
as wheat earns only about a quarter of what farmers can make from opium
sales.
As the drug problem looms, Afghans - aided by
U.S.-led coalition forces - are pushing ahead with developing their country.
One of the main projects is building the country's infrastructure. A
482-kilometer highway linking Afghanistan's two major cities, Kabul and
Kandahar, has recently been paved and a road from Kandahar to the ancient
city of Heart is under construction.
In 2004 and 2005, more than 1250 kilometers
of secondary roads are scheduled to be paved. When security is fully
restored, Afghanistan will be able to tap into some of its natural
resources, including potentially vast gas reservoirs in northern
Afghanistan.
Due to its strategic position between the
Caspian gas reserves and the Indian Ocean, pipeline projects could bring
hundreds of millions of dollars to Afghanistan's economy.
But with security shaky and tensions between
India and Pakistan, Western companies have shown little interest in
following through on pipeline construction. If Karzai can save Afghanistan
from degenerating permanently into a "narco-state," he has the deep pockets
of the United States helping him lift his country for the first time in
decades out of war and chaos into peace and relative prosperity.
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WB gives
$25m credit for improving Kabul infrastructure
By Daud Khattak
KABUL, August 11
(Pajhwok Afghan News)
The World Bank has provided $25 million of
interest-free loan to the government for bringing improvement in the basic
urban services in the most vulnerable areas of the central capital.
A press release issued here on Thursday said
the amount so provided would be spent under the Kabul Urban Reconstruction
Project. In this connection, the Ministry of Rural Development and Housing
and the World Bank have jointly organized a three-day workshop scheduled to
be held from Saturday to formally launch the project.
During the workshop, experts will deliver
speeches and share experiences on urban up-gradation, arrangements for
project implementation and collaboration among the ministry, municipality
and the community during the course of the project completion. It merits a
mention here that Kabul faces challenges in terms of urban services in the
face of large-scale return of Afghans from abroad and other parts of the
country.
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300 phone booths
start functioning in Kabul
By: Mustafa Basharat
KABUL, August 11
(Pajhwok Afghan News)
Three hundred telephone booths, established
by the communication ministry in different parts of this capital city,
started functioning on Thursday. Speaking at the inaugural ceremony, Afghan
Communication Minister Amirzai Sangeen said 150 booths had been set up in
busy markets while the rest in populated areas of the city.
He added calling cards of 250 and 500
Afghanis could be used to make calls from the booths installed in line with
growing public demands. A call to a digital and cell-phone number will
respectively cost one and five Afghanis a minute while emergency numbers
like those of police, firefighters and other services would be toll-free.
The telephone booths, made by the German
giant Siemens, were purchased for two hundred thousand dollars by the
government and installed by a private Afghan company. Kabul dwellers lauded
the booths, hoping they would save them time as well as money in terms of
local and international call expenses.
Mohammad Naveed of the Afghan central bank
argued the step would help those who could not afford to have a mobile set.
But another resident Ezatullah said: "The poor cannot pay the existing call
charges."
The calling-booth system has been
operationalizing at a time when two private mobile companies - Afghan
Wireless Communication Company (AWCC) and Roshan - are doing a roaring
business in the country, despite service imperfections and flaws.
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Bank Alfalah to open branch
in Kabul
Bureau report The News International,
Pakistan
11/8/05
PESHAWAR: The Bank Alfalah is starting its
banking services in Afghanistan in September by opening a branch in Kabul.
The Kabul branch of the bank would open its
doors either on September 3 or 12. Mohammad Saleem Akhtar, chief executive
officer, Bank Alfalah Limited, Pakistan would announce the date of opening
of the Kabul branch at a dinner being hosted by the bank in Peshawar today.
Around 300 guests, including industrialists, traders, bankers and people
from other relevant fields, have been invited to the dinner.
Muzammal Z Malik, Bank Alfalah?s country
manager for Afghanistan, told The News that they surveyed the market in
Afghanistan for two and a half years before deciding to open the branch in
Kabul. He said a two kanal plot of land was bought in Kabul?s posh
Shahr-i-Nau locality and work on a purpose-built building for the bank had
started. "We would have round-the-clock banking operations in Kabul and ATM
services would be introduced," he said.
According to Malik, Afghanistan after
Bangladesh would be the second country where Bank Alfalah would be starting
its international banking services in recent years. It would be the first
UAE-based bank to operate a branch in Kabul. The bank had started its
operations in Pakistan in 1997 and has now grown in size and stature. Owned
by the royal Al Nahyan family of Abu Dhabi, the Bank Alfalah operates from
its Karachi head office. The same group owns the UBL and the Warid Telecom
in Pakistan and is going to build the Dhabi Towers, Pakistan?s tallest
building, in Lahore. The group has made investment worth a billion dollars
in Pakistan.
Among Pakistani banks, the National Bank of
Pakistan and Habib Bank are presently operating branches in Afghanistan. In
fact, the National Bank of Pakistan was the first international bank to set
up a branch in Kabul and later it opened another one in Jalalabad.
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