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Daily Afghan Report


		[ 25 April 2008 ] Turkmen-Afghan-Pakistani Pipeline Project To Start In 2010 Oil ministers from Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India signed a draft framework in Islamabad on April 24 agreeing to begin construction work in 2010 on a pipeline project to bring Turkmen natural gas through Afghanistan to Pakistan and India, news agencies reported the same day. Talks between Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, and Pakistan have been going on since 2002. In 2006, India was invited in as an observer to the project, but this is the first time that India is participating in talks on the pipeline as a full-fledged member. Originally estimated at $3.3 billion in 2004, the cost of the project has risen to $7.6 billion due to a sharp increase in price of steel, construction costs, and the cost of compressor stations, Pakistani Minister for Petroleum and Natural Resources Khwaja Asif said. According to the Associated Press of Pakistan, despite the significant increase in cost estimates, the project is still considered economically and financially feasible. The pipeline is to run from Turkmenistan's Dauletabad field through Herat and Kandahar in Afghanistan to Multan in Pakistan, and then to the Pakistan-India border. AT Afghanistan, Pakistan Agree To 'New Beginning' In Relations According to a joint statement, Afghanistan and Pakistan have agreed to a "new beginning" to bilateral relations based on mutual trust and understanding, AFP reported on April 24. The announcement was made after Afghan Foreign Minister Rangin Dadfar Spanta concluded a two-day visit to Pakistan, where he met with his Pakistani counterpart Shah Mahmud Qureshi, President Pervez Musharraf, and Prime Minister Yusaf Raza Gilani. "Both side reaffirmed their resolve towards intensifying cooperation and coordination between the two nations in the fight against international terrorism and narcotics," said the statement. "Both ministers agreed on the importance of convening the third regional economic cooperation conference on Afghanistan in Islamabad," it concluded. AT Taliban Denies Kidnapping Two Foreigners The Taliban has denied responsibility for the kidnapping of an Indian and Nepalese national, while police continue to search for the men, AFP reported on April 24. Taliban spokesman Qari Yusef Ahmadi said his organization was not involved. "We cannot take responsibility for the kidnapping of the two foreigners," he told AFP. "We have asked all our allies, but they reject this." Although Taliban insurgents are usually blamed for scores of such kidnappings over the past years, criminal gangs also seize people to extract ransoms. The Indian man has worked in Afghanistan for five years and was providing logistics for Afghan security forces, an Afghan government official said. AT Pakistan Protests To NATO, Afghanistan Over Soldier's Death Pakistan's Foreign Ministry has lodged a strong protest with NATO and Afghan forces over the death of a Pakistani soldier, AFP reported on April 24. The incident occurred when NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and Afghan troops responded to an assault by Taliban militants on border post on April 23. Afghan and ISAF troops then pounded the Pakistani side with shells, which killed a soldier and injured another. As many as 10 militants were killed in the fighting. "We have lodged a strong protest with the Afghan and ISAF side and told them in clear terms that such incidents must not be repeated," Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Sadiq told reporters at a weekly briefing. "We emphasized that military action on the Pakistan side is the exclusive responsibility of Pakistani forces." AT archive homepage

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