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Daily Afghan Report


		[ 19 September 2003 ] 13 Killed In Afghan Fighting Amin Tarzi More than four days of armed clashes in the Kohbandha District of Kapisa Province have resulted in the deaths of 13 people and the wounding of 15 others, Radio Free Afghanistan reported on 18 September. According to one eyewitness, the continuing fighting is between the forces of rival local commanders Asadullah and Gul Nasir. A representative from Kapisa said locals have urged the government to intervene. General Abdul Aziz Safi, the security commander of Kapisa, confirmed the number of causalities and said the fighting is due to "personal animosity between two commanders." Safi claimed that a cease-fire is in effect. There are reportedly about 6,000 armed men in the Kohbandha area, which is about 100 kilometers north of Kabul. Sacked Kabul Police Chief Rejects Allegations Ousted police chief General Abdul Basir Salangi said his recent dismissal was organized three months ago and had nothing to do with the so-called Shayr Pur incident, the Voice of the Islamic Republic of Iran reported on 18 September. Salangi was sacked on 17 September after allegedly ordering the destruction of more than 30 homes in the Shayr Pur District of Kabul to make room for luxury houses for government officials (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 5, 16, and 18 September 2003). "The issue of demolishing the houses is different" and unrelated to his dismissal, Salangi said. "Everything regarding the housing scandals is untrue." Salangi said the houses in Shayr Pur were illegally constructed and their owners were to move to the 12th District of Kabul, where land had been provided for them. In response to a question regarding the communist past of his replacement, General Abdul Wahid Baba Jan, Salangi said, "I do not know about that, but he is a good and active military officer." AT Staff In Iran Of Afghan Constitutional Commission Swept Aside Afghanistan's Constitutional Commission has replaced the entire staff of its satellite office in Mashhad in neighboring Iran, Radio Free Afghanistan reported on 19 September. Employees were not available for comment, but sources familiar with the work of the office claimed the office proved unable to collect the views of more than 1 million Afghan refugees in Iran regarding a future Afghan constitution. The sources added that the staff in Iran was not representative of all Afghan ethnic groups. In order to collect the views of the public on the new Afghan constitution, the commission established eight regional offices inside Afghanistan and offices in neighboring Iran and Pakistan, where many Afghan refugees live (see "RFE/RL Afghanistan Report," 10 April 2003). AT Council Of Ulama To 'Fight Enemy Propaganda' In Afghanistan Afghan Chief Justice Mawlawi Fazl Hadi Shinwari said Afghan Transitional Administration Chairman Hamid Karzai has approved the establishment of a 2,600-member Council of Ulama of Afghanistan (CUA) to contest enemy propaganda and preach Islam, the Jalalabad-based newspaper "Nan" reported on 17 September. According to Shinwari, the CUA will soon begin its work in all Afghan provinces to counter enemy propaganda labeling the current Afghan government as infidels. He said each province will have 80 ulama (religious scholars) in the CUA. Shinwari said the Karzai administration is "an Islamic and legal state" and war against it "is not jihad but insurgency and immorality." The chief justice said the CUA will be "perfectly independent and permanent." AT NATO Looking To Expand ISAF Beyond Kabul NATO asked its military experts on 18 September to begin a feasibility study on extending the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) beyond the Afghan capital Kabul, RFE/RL reported. The military planners are set to report back on 26 September with an assessment of the security risks in Afghanistan and options and requirements for expanding the mission. The United Nations and Afghan Transitional Administration Chairman Karzai have called for the ISAF to be expanded to help restore stability to Afghanistan's provinces. The United States and Germany last week called on NATO to examine the possibility of boosting the UN-mandated force. NATO took over leadership of the 5,500-strong international force in August (see "RFE/RL Afghanistan Report," 20 December 2002 and 14 August 2003). AT Goethe Institute To Reopen In Kabul Germany will reopen its Goethe Institute cultural center in Kabul on 22 September, some 12 years after its closure, dpa reported on 18 September. The Goethe Institute will be the only foreign institution promoting cultural activities in Kabul, dpa reported. AT Hungarian Official In Kabul Matyas Szabo Foreign Ministry political state secretary Andras Barsony held talks in Kabul on 18 September with Afghan Transitional Administration Chairman Karzai, Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah, and Defense Minister Mohammad Qasim Fahim, the Hungarian daily "Nepszabadsag" reported. At the meeting, Barsony reportedly made a pledge to the Afghan leaders that Hungary will send experts to help that country combat terrorism once the Hungarian medical contingent returns from there in December. archive homepage