<p>Afghanistan&#39;s Air Force is expected to receive 58 armed UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters from the United States.</p>

<p>This would be a part of the USD 1 billion deal to provide 159 helicopters to the Afghan forces until 2024.</p>

<p>The new choppers are being upgraded to a UH-60A+ variant with more powerful engines, the Khaama Press quoted an American military newspaper as saying.</p>

<p>58 of the aircraft will be fitted with additional rocket pods and machine guns like the Mi-17s, it added.</p>

<p>According to the report, Army Maj. Alexmi Lugo, a program manager with NATO&#39;s Train, Advise, Assist Command-Air unit, has said that the pilots of the Afghan Air Force are being trained for the new helicopters.</p>

<p>Meanwhile, the US&nbsp;administration is reportedly allowing the American troops in Afghanistan to participate in joint operations with Afghan forces and to call in air strikes when needed.</p>


This would be a part of the USD 1 billion deal to provide 159 helicopters to the Afghan forces until 2024.

Afghanistan's Air Force is expected to receive 58 armed UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters from the United States. This would be a part of the USD 1 billion deal to provide 159 helicopters to the Afghan forces until 2024. The new choppers are being upgraded to a UH-60A+ variant with more powerful engines, the Khaama Press quoted an American military newspaper as saying. 58 of the aircraft will be fitted with additional rocket pods and machine guns like the Mi-17s, it added. According to the report, Army Maj. Alexmi Lugo, a program manager with NATO's Train, Advise, Assist Command-Air unit, has said that the pilots of the Afghan Air Force are being trained for the new helicopters. Meanwhile, the US administration is reportedly allowing the American troops in Afghanistan to participate in joint operations with Afghan forces and to call in air strikes when needed.

Afghan Air Force to get 58 Black Hawk helicopters from US

<p>Afghans were dealt a blast from the past one morning late last week: Newspapers front paged a photograph of President Ashraf Ghani and his Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah flanking the man widely reviled as the Butcher of Kabul, Gulbuddin Hekmatyar. Also in the picture was former president Hamid Karzai.&nbsp;<br />
&nbsp;<br />
Hekmatyar&#39;s return to Kabul after 20 years of exile could be described as nothing less than triumphant. He rolled into the city in a convoy of vehicles with his armed Hezb-I-Islami fighters in tow. Apparently, his murderous shelling of Kabul in the 1990s civil war was no longer an issue, which suggests that the Afghan pot is churning again with uncertain consequences for India. But more on that later. Let&#39;s look at some other developments.&nbsp;</p>

<p>This week the Pentagon will shoot off a set of recommendations on Afghanistan to President Trump: The buzz in the US media is about the military proposing to send at least 5000 more troops to that country to add to the 8,400 already there. The troops will be largely &quot;trainers&quot; for the Afghan military. &nbsp;</p>

<p>It doesn&#39;t take a genius to figure out that when the US was not able to sort out the Taliban with 100,000 troops, it cannot do so with 13,500. At the same time, Trump apparently has given his &nbsp;military brass full freedom on Afghanistan. The only caveat is the US should not end up looking defeated.&nbsp;</p>

<p>This comment from Gen. Raymond Thomas of the US Special Operations Command provides insights into the army&#39;s thinking. &nbsp;He said the critical factor in Afghanistan was the US commitment to &ldquo;a sound enduring state&rdquo; which he said, was &ldquo;not described effectively&rdquo; in the past. &ldquo;I think our new strategy is going to establish that definition.&rdquo; &nbsp;</p>

<p>Sameer Lalwani and Travis Wheeler of the Stimson Center, who write&nbsp;in the online magazine The Wire, said the US is hoping to achieve &quot;strategic effects&quot; in Afghanistan, meaning, &quot;the US could use force not simply to reverse battlefield gains by the Taliban but instead could pursue a lasting political settlement.&quot;&nbsp;</p>

<p>That point had been underscored by Richard Olson, former US Special Representative for AfPak, in an op-ed piece in the New York Times where he suggested that a political settlement might be possible allowing (and this is important) for reconciliation and Taliban entrance into the Afghan state!&nbsp;</p>

<p>Finally we have it: The US maybe preparing to do what was until now considered unthinkable, shake hands with the Taliban. &nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

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<p>The pundits would say Washington is rather belatedly waking up to &nbsp;the realities of its 17 year Afghan adventure. The Special Inspector General for Afghan Reconstruction recently reported to the US Congress, that Taliban shadow governments now operate in virtually every province and control some of them, like Helmand. Government centres throughout the country are under constant pressure from Taliban insurgents. &nbsp;Violence throughout 2016 and in the first quarter of this year, have reached their highest level since 2007. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;</p>

<p>Afghanistan&#39;s neighbours appear to have woken up to this much earlier. Russia and China have been talking to the Taliban, apparently seeing them as less of a threat than the Islamic State. This is happening when the Islamic State&#39;s presence in eastern Afghanistan is at a nascent stage, there is no great territory it controls and its rank and file appear to be disgruntled elements from other insurgent factions including the Taliban. &nbsp;&nbsp;</p>

<p>Even Shia Iran appears to have come on board to support the Sunni Taliban. There are reports of Taliban leaders being sighted in Kerman, Yazd and Mashad in Iran. Also that the Taliban shura has been allowed to operate since 2012 from Zahedan in south-east Iran bordering Afghanistan. The Afghan government says Taliban leaders cross over into Iran with valid visas on their passports. Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, incidentally, is reported to have been living in Iran for the last seven years despite his anti-Shia proclivites. &nbsp;&nbsp;</p>

<p>South Asia writer Ramtanu Maitra of the Executive Intelligence Review, underscores a crucial point, that Saudi financial largesse for the Taliban maybe drying up, the money now shifting to support the Islamic State. &nbsp;Reports of IS cadres seeking to expand their influence in the Afghan provinces of Zabul, Wardak and Ghazni have been persistent. Maitra points to Russian reports that the IS is infiltrating into Helmand with an eye on controlling the heroin trafficking network there. &nbsp;&nbsp;</p>

<p>Afghanistan&#39;s neighbours, it seems, see the Taliban as the lesser of the two evils: Although Islamist and conservative, it is an Afghan movement. The Taliban in turn, may find it convenient to moderate its policies in order to draw the support of neighbours as it seeks to ward off the challenge of the Islamic State.&nbsp;<br />
&nbsp;</p>

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<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>Where does this leave India? Publicly, India&#39;s policy is no truck with the Taliban. The group is seen in India as Pakistan&#39;s child, an Islamist &nbsp;terror outfit bent on fomenting discord and violence across the region. But does that imply no contact at all with the group? &nbsp;Indian diplomats have indicated privately in the past that the Taliban was not known to target India funded development projects. In 2010 Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said the movement was not in direct conflict with India and wanted normal relations. &nbsp;This even while claiming responsibility for the attack on a Kabul hotel in Feb 2010 in which seven Indians were killed. &nbsp;</p>

<p>In 2013, the former Taliban ambassador to Pakistan Abdul Salam Zaeef was in Goa to attend the litfest. Reports at that time said Indian intelligence agencies insisted that he get a visa. Zaeef was picked up by the Pakistanis as the US moved into Afghanistan in the wake of 9/11. He spent time in Guantanamo Bay and the book he wrote after his release is scathing in its references to Islamabad. India is hardly mentioned. Ambassador Zaeef told me in an interview in Kabul some years ago that India did wrong by backing the Soviet occupation of his country and supporting the late President Najibullah. But he also acknowledged India never sent troops to Afghanistan. &nbsp;&nbsp;</p>

<p>Lalwani and Wheeler make the point that an Afghan settlement involving the Taliban could in the long term help India. Currently, Washington&#39;s South Asia focus is driven largely by AfPak with Islamabad exercising considerable leverage in the relationship. &nbsp;</p>

<p>This stems partly from Washington&#39;s reliance on Pakistan to ensure smooth flow of supplies to its forces in Afghanistan. Also partly because the Pakistan-US partnership is an old one, dating back to the 1950s; in the &nbsp;Pentagon and State Department there are &quot;Pakistan hands&quot;; there are individual and institutional relationships; most important the Pakistani military and its intelligence agencies provide valuable support to the US even today. &nbsp;Such ties provide the balance when the outcry against Pakistani involvement and connivance with terror groups gets louder.&nbsp;</p>

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<h5>Ambassador Zaeef told me in an interview in Kabul some years ago that India did wrong by backing the Soviet occupation of his country and supporting the late President Najibullah.</h5>
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<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>Lalwani and Wheeler believe this interdependence will diminish considerably after an Afghan settlement no longer requires the presence of US forces. The US may then be more inclined to crack down on Pakistan-backed terror groups, including those directed against India.&nbsp;</p>

<p>There is also the point that with its military capacities being significantly augmented, India may have little to fear from the Taliban. If the group does provide sanctuaries and safe haven to terror groups, India can easily target them. Which brings me back to Gulbuddin Hekmatyar and the churning of the Afghan pot. His anti-India inclinations are well known but sitting in Kabul with a stake in the power structure could transform old attitudes. &nbsp;&nbsp;</p>

<p>The Taliban, for all its faults, remains an Afghan movement. It is also, going by various reports, splintered and therefore difficult for Pakistan to control. It probably explains Pakistan&#39;s support for other groups, including the Haqqani network, Al-Qaeda (apparently Pakistan is hiding its chief Ayman Zawahiri in Karachi), besides covertly encouraging the rise of the Islamic State in Afghanistan. India needs to play its cards deftly in this new phase of the Afghan Great Game. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;<br />
&nbsp;</p>

<p>(WION)</p>


With the return of Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, the Afghan pot is churning again with uncertain consequences for India.

Afghans were dealt a blast from the past one morning late last week: Newspapers front paged a photograph of President Ashraf Ghani and his Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah flanking the man widely reviled as the Butcher of Kabul, Gulbuddin Hekmatyar. Also in the picture was former president Hamid Karzai. Hekmatyar's return to Kabul after 20 years of exile could be described as nothing less than triumphant. He rolled into the city in a convoy of vehicles with his armed Hezb-I-Islami fighters in tow. Apparently, his murderous shelling of Kabul in the 1990s civil war was no longer an issue, which suggests that the Afghan pot is churning again with uncertain consequences for India. But more on that later. Let's look at some other developments. This week the Pentagon will shoot off a set of recommendations on Afghanistan to President Trump: The buzz in the US media is about the military proposing to send at least 5000 more troops to that country to add to the 8,400 already there. The troops will be largely "trainers" for the Afghan military. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that when the US was not able to sort out the Taliban with 100,000 troops, it cannot do so with 13,500. At the same time, Trump apparently has given his military brass full freedom on Afghanistan. The only caveat is the US should not end up looking defeated. This comment from Gen. Raymond Thomas of the US Special Operations Command provides insights into the army's thinking. He said the critical factor in Afghanistan was the US commitment to “a sound enduring state” which he said, was “not described effectively” in the past. “I think our new strategy is going to establish that definition.” Sameer Lalwani and Travis Wheeler of the Stimson Center, who write in the online magazine The Wire, said the US is hoping to achieve "strategic effects" in Afghanistan, meaning, "the US could use force not simply to reverse battlefield gains by the Taliban but instead could pursue a lasting political settlement." That point had been underscored by Richard Olson, former US Special Representative for AfPak, in an op-ed piece in the New York Times where he suggested that a political settlement might be possible allowing (and this is important) for reconciliation and Taliban entrance into the Afghan state! Finally we have it: The US maybe preparing to do what was until now considered unthinkable, shake hands with the Taliban. The US maybe preparing to do what was until now considered unthinkable, shake hands with the Taliban. × The pundits would say Washington is rather belatedly waking up to the realities of its 17 year Afghan adventure. The Special Inspector General for Afghan Reconstruction recently reported to the US Congress, that Taliban shadow governments now operate in virtually every province and control some of them, like Helmand. Government centres throughout the country are under constant pressure from Taliban insurgents. Violence throughout 2016 and in the first quarter of this year, have reached their highest level since 2007. Afghanistan's neighbours appear to have woken up to this much earlier. Russia and China have been talking to the Taliban, apparently seeing them as less of a threat than the Islamic State. This is happening when the Islamic State's presence in eastern Afghanistan is at a nascent stage, there is no great territory it controls and its rank and file appear to be disgruntled elements from other insurgent factions including the Taliban. Even Shia Iran appears to have come on board to support the Sunni Taliban. There are reports of Taliban leaders being sighted in Kerman, Yazd and Mashad in Iran. Also that the Taliban shura has been allowed to operate since 2012 from Zahedan in south-east Iran bordering Afghanistan. The Afghan government says Taliban leaders cross over into Iran with valid visas on their passports. Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, incidentally, is reported to have been living in Iran for the last seven years despite his anti-Shia proclivites. South Asia writer Ramtanu Maitra of the Executive Intelligence Review, underscores a crucial point, that Saudi financial largesse for the Taliban maybe drying up, the money now shifting to support the Islamic State. Reports of IS cadres seeking to expand their influence in the Afghan provinces of Zabul, Wardak and Ghazni have been persistent. Maitra points to Russian reports that the IS is infiltrating into Helmand with an eye on controlling the heroin trafficking network there. Afghanistan's neighbours, it seems, see the Taliban as the lesser of the two evils: Although Islamist and conservative, it is an Afghan movement. The Taliban in turn, may find it convenient to moderate its policies in order to draw the support of neighbours as it seeks to ward off the challenge of the Islamic State. The Taliban in turn, may find it convenient to moderate its policies in order to draw the support of neighbours as it seeks to ward off the challenge of the Islamic State. × Where does this leave India? Publicly, India's policy is no truck with the Taliban. The group is seen in India as Pakistan's child, an Islamist terror outfit bent on fomenting discord and violence across the region. But does that imply no contact at all with the group? Indian diplomats have indicated privately in the past that the Taliban was not known to target India funded development projects. In 2010 Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said the movement was not in direct conflict with India and wanted normal relations. This even while claiming responsibility for the attack on a Kabul hotel in Feb 2010 in which seven Indians were killed. In 2013, the former Taliban ambassador to Pakistan Abdul Salam Zaeef was in Goa to attend the litfest. Reports at that time said Indian intelligence agencies insisted that he get a visa. Zaeef was picked up by the Pakistanis as the US moved into Afghanistan in the wake of 9/11. He spent time in Guantanamo Bay and the book he wrote after his release is scathing in its references to Islamabad. India is hardly mentioned. Ambassador Zaeef told me in an interview in Kabul some years ago that India did wrong by backing the Soviet occupation of his country and supporting the late President Najibullah. But he also acknowledged India never sent troops to Afghanistan. Lalwani and Wheeler make the point that an Afghan settlement involving the Taliban could in the long term help India. Currently, Washington's South Asia focus is driven largely by AfPak with Islamabad exercising considerable leverage in the relationship. This stems partly from Washington's reliance on Pakistan to ensure smooth flow of supplies to its forces in Afghanistan. Also partly because the Pakistan-US partnership is an old one, dating back to the 1950s; in the Pentagon and State Department there are "Pakistan hands"; there are individual and institutional relationships; most important the Pakistani military and its intelligence agencies provide valuable support to the US even today. Such ties provide the balance when the outcry against Pakistani involvement and connivance with terror groups gets louder. Ambassador Zaeef told me in an interview in Kabul some years ago that India did wrong by backing the Soviet occupation of his country and supporting the late President Najibullah. × Lalwani and Wheeler believe this interdependence will diminish considerably after an Afghan settlement no longer requires the presence of US forces. The US may then be more inclined to crack down on Pakistan-backed terror groups, including those directed against India. There is also the point that with its military capacities being significantly augmented, India may have little to fear from the Taliban. If the group does provide sanctuaries and safe haven to terror groups, India can easily target them. Which brings me back to Gulbuddin Hekmatyar and the churning of the Afghan pot. His anti-India inclinations are well known but sitting in Kabul with a stake in the power structure could transform old attitudes. The Taliban, for all its faults, remains an Afghan movement. It is also, going by various reports, splintered and therefore difficult for Pakistan to control. It probably explains Pakistan's support for other groups, including the Haqqani network, Al-Qaeda (apparently Pakistan is hiding its chief Ayman Zawahiri in Karachi), besides covertly encouraging the rise of the Islamic State in Afghanistan. India needs to play its cards deftly in this new phase of the Afghan Great Game. (WION)

Afghan Great Game changes with the return of 'Butcher of Kabul'

<p>Food is a fundamental part of Afghan culture. In this series, we take you through the preparation of a traditional meal that you are likely to find at a restaurant on the streets of Kabul.</p>

<p>Everything starts with spices. A range of spices, both local and imported from neighbours&nbsp;Iran and India, combine to lend the dishes a distinct aroma and flavour.</p>

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<p>Source (AFP)</p>
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<p>Besides rice, bread is the other staple carbohydrate. Many dishes are, in fact, eaten with bread instead of rice.</p>

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<p>Source (AFP)</p>
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<p>Meat is present in most of the dishes and &quot;kebabs&quot; are what the region is famous for.</p>

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<p>Source (AFP)</p>
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<p>What we have here is the most popular Afghan dish &quot;Qabili Palo&quot; - a mix of rice, raisins and chopped carrots.</p>

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<p>Source (AFP)</p>
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<p>No Afghan food is complete without pickles. Every vegetable that you can think of is usually pickled.</p>

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<p>Source (AFP)</p>
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<p>Dry fruits are a staple part of Afghan diet. You&rsquo;ll often find people munching on them while sipping tea, either as dessert or as a snack during the day.</p>

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<p>Source (AFP)</p>
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<p>Fruits are present after every meal, with watermelons being the most popular.</p>

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<p>Source (AFP)</p>
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<p>Here comes your tray of Afghan food;&nbsp;enjoy!</p>

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<p>Source (AFP)</p>
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<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>


From street food to traditional delicacies, discover the food that Afghans have to offer

Food is a fundamental part of Afghan culture. In this series, we take you through the preparation of a traditional meal that you are likely to find at a restaurant on the streets of Kabul. Everything starts with spices. A range of spices, both local and imported from neighbours Iran and India, combine to lend the dishes a distinct aroma and flavour. Source (AFP) × Besides rice, bread is the other staple carbohydrate. Many dishes are, in fact, eaten with bread instead of rice. Source (AFP) × Meat is present in most of the dishes and "kebabs" are what the region is famous for. Source (AFP) × What we have here is the most popular Afghan dish "Qabili Palo" - a mix of rice, raisins and chopped carrots. Source (AFP) × No Afghan food is complete without pickles. Every vegetable that you can think of is usually pickled. Source (AFP) × Dry fruits are a staple part of Afghan diet. You’ll often find people munching on them while sipping tea, either as dessert or as a snack during the day. Source (AFP) × Fruits are present after every meal, with watermelons being the most popular. Source (AFP) × Here comes your tray of Afghan food; enjoy! Source (AFP) ×

Photos: Take a bite into Afghanistan's cuisine

Six crew members of a Pakistani government helicopter which crash-landed in Afghanistan&#39;s volatile east have been released, an official said today, after they were taken hostage by the Afghan Taliban.<br />
<br />
The crew &quot;was released in an inter-tribe exchange on the Pakistan-Afghan border (and) arrived in Islamabad today,&quot; foreign ministry spokesman Nafees Zakaria said in a statement.<br />
<br />
He did not specify who had been holding the crew hostage nor what kind of exchange had secured their release.<br />
<br />
All six people - five Pakistanis and a Russian navigator - are &quot;safe and in good health,&quot; he said, adding that the helicopter belonged to the Punjab provincial government.<br />
<br />
A senior Pakistani official, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed the crew&#39;s safe return.<br />
<br />
After the August 4 crash, local authorities in Afghanistan said that the six-person crew had been taken hostage by the Afghan Taliban.<br />
<br />
Militants set the Mi-17 transport helicopter on fire and took the crew to a Taliban-controlled area after it made an emergency landing in Logar province.<br />
<br />
The crew included retired Pakistani military officers and a Russian navigator, Pakistan&#39;s Dawn newspaper reported at the time.<br />
<br />
Pakistan had sought permission to fly a helicopter - being sent to Russia for overhauling - over Afghan air space.<br />
<br />
Pakistani army chief general Raheel Sharif said he had spoken to Afghanistan&#39;s President Ashraf Ghani after the crash in a bid to secure the crew&#39;s release.<br />
<br />
&quot;President Ashraf Ghani assured all possible assistance in this regard,&quot; he posted on Twitter.<br />
<br />
Kabul has long accused Pakistan of supporting the Taliban and continuing to nurture sanctuaries on its soil in the hope of maintaining influence in Afghanistan.<br />
<br />
Analysts said it was not clear how the Pakistan government had secured the crew&#39;s safe release.<br />
<br />
&quot;Our government is tight-lipped while the army also did not say anything about the role of the Afghan government,&quot; security analyst Hasan Askari told AFP.<br />
<br />
The Afghan Taliban have not commented on the conditions of the release.<br />
<br />
&quot;One thing is however, very clear - that Afghan Taliban certainly do not want to deteriorate their ties with Pakistan,&quot; Askari said.<br />
<br />
Askari questioned why the MI-17 was being send to Russia for repairs through Afghan airspace.<br />
<br />
&quot;It appeared to be kind of a mysterious exercise,&quot; he added.<br />
<br />
Pakistan&#39;s army uses Russian-made MI-17 helicopters, several of which have crashed in recent years.<br />
<br />
In February, an army officer was killed when a military helicopter crashed in northern Pakistan on a routine night training mission.<br />
<br />
Last August, 12 people were killed when a helicopter belonging to the army crashed in northwest Pakistan.<br />
<br />
And seven people - including two foreign ambassadors - died in May last year when an MI-17 army helicopter crashed at a holiday resort in the hills of Gilgit.<br />
<br />
(AFP)

Pakistan's foreign ministry spokesman did not specify who had been holding the crew hostage nor what kind of exchange secured their release

Six crew members of a Pakistani government helicopter which crash-landed in Afghanistan's volatile east have been released, an official said today, after they were taken hostage by the Afghan Taliban. The crew "was released in an inter-tribe exchange on the Pakistan-Afghan border (and) arrived in Islamabad today," foreign ministry spokesman Nafees Zakaria said in a statement. He did not specify who had been holding the crew hostage nor what kind of exchange had secured their release. All six people - five Pakistanis and a Russian navigator - are "safe and in good health," he said, adding that the helicopter belonged to the Punjab provincial government. A senior Pakistani official, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed the crew's safe return. After the August 4 crash, local authorities in Afghanistan said that the six-person crew had been taken hostage by the Afghan Taliban. Militants set the Mi-17 transport helicopter on fire and took the crew to a Taliban-controlled area after it made an emergency landing in Logar province. The crew included retired Pakistani military officers and a Russian navigator, Pakistan's Dawn newspaper reported at the time. Pakistan had sought permission to fly a helicopter - being sent to Russia for overhauling - over Afghan air space. Pakistani army chief general Raheel Sharif said he had spoken to Afghanistan's President Ashraf Ghani after the crash in a bid to secure the crew's release. "President Ashraf Ghani assured all possible assistance in this regard," he posted on Twitter. Kabul has long accused Pakistan of supporting the Taliban and continuing to nurture sanctuaries on its soil in the hope of maintaining influence in Afghanistan. Analysts said it was not clear how the Pakistan government had secured the crew's safe release. "Our government is tight-lipped while the army also did not say anything about the role of the Afghan government," security analyst Hasan Askari told AFP. The Afghan Taliban have not commented on the conditions of the release. "One thing is however, very clear - that Afghan Taliban certainly do not want to deteriorate their ties with Pakistan," Askari said. Askari questioned why the MI-17 was being send to Russia for repairs through Afghan airspace. "It appeared to be kind of a mysterious exercise," he added. Pakistan's army uses Russian-made MI-17 helicopters, several of which have crashed in recent years. In February, an army officer was killed when a military helicopter crashed in northern Pakistan on a routine night training mission. Last August, 12 people were killed when a helicopter belonging to the army crashed in northwest Pakistan. And seven people - including two foreign ambassadors - died in May last year when an MI-17 army helicopter crashed at a holiday resort in the hills of Gilgit. (AFP)

More than a week after chopper crash, Afghan Taliban free Pakistan crew

The official Twitter account of Afghan chief executive Abdullah Abdullah has been hacked, and a group apparently sympathetic to minority Shiite Hazara protesters has claimed responsibility.<br />
<br />
&quot;I prefer dangerous freedom over peaceful slavery. #enlightenment #enlightenmentmovement,&quot; a group identifying itself as Ghost Squad Hackers tweeted from the account late Saturday.<br />
<br />
The hashtags refer to the newly-founded Enlightenment Movement led by Hazaras, who were targeted by suicide bombers loyal to the Islamic State group during a huge protest in Kabul on July 23.<br />
<br />
&quot;CEO Abdullah&#39;s verified twitter account @afgexecutive has been hacked and our press and (information technology) teams are trying to restore it,&quot; said Javid Faisal, Abdullah&#39;s spokesman.<br />
<br />
Abdullah&#39;s office said it had no information about the whereabouts of Ghost Squad Hackers.<br />
<br />
&quot;Afghanistan Gov Hacked by GhostSquadHackers #ChiefExecutiveOfficer Can you hear me now?&quot; the group tweeted from their own account @GhostSquadHack.<br />
<br />
The group appears to be sympathetic to the plight of the Hazara community which has been persecuted for decades, with thousands killed in the late 1990s by Al-Qaeda and the mainly Pashtun Taliban.<br />
<br />
The July 23 attack, the deadliest in the Afghan capital in 15 years, killed 80 people.<br />
<br />
It came as the protesters demanded that a major power line be routed through the central province of Bamiyan, one of the most deprived areas of Afghanistan with a large Hazara population.<br />
<br />
Following the attack Hazaras launched a massive social media campaign with the hashtag #enlightenment against what they call discrimination.<br />
<br />
(AFP)

A group identifying itself as Ghost Squad Hackers, which is sympathetic to minority Shiite Hazara protesters, has claimed responsibility

The official Twitter account of Afghan chief executive Abdullah Abdullah has been hacked, and a group apparently sympathetic to minority Shiite Hazara protesters has claimed responsibility. "I prefer dangerous freedom over peaceful slavery. #enlightenment #enlightenmentmovement," a group identifying itself as Ghost Squad Hackers tweeted from the account late Saturday. The hashtags refer to the newly-founded Enlightenment Movement led by Hazaras, who were targeted by suicide bombers loyal to the Islamic State group during a huge protest in Kabul on July 23. "CEO Abdullah's verified twitter account @afgexecutive has been hacked and our press and (information technology) teams are trying to restore it," said Javid Faisal, Abdullah's spokesman. Abdullah's office said it had no information about the whereabouts of Ghost Squad Hackers. "Afghanistan Gov Hacked by GhostSquadHackers #ChiefExecutiveOfficer Can you hear me now?" the group tweeted from their own account @GhostSquadHack. The group appears to be sympathetic to the plight of the Hazara community which has been persecuted for decades, with thousands killed in the late 1990s by Al-Qaeda and the mainly Pashtun Taliban. The July 23 attack, the deadliest in the Afghan capital in 15 years, killed 80 people. It came as the protesters demanded that a major power line be routed through the central province of Bamiyan, one of the most deprived areas of Afghanistan with a large Hazara population. Following the attack Hazaras launched a massive social media campaign with the hashtag #enlightenment against what they call discrimination. (AFP)

Afghan chief executive's Twitter account hacked

Pakistan has extended by six months a deadline for Afghan refugees to register with the government, a refugee official said on Wednesday, a day before the deadline was set to expire.<br />
<br />
Pakistan has the world&#39;s second largest refugee population, with more than 1.5 million registered, and about a million unregistered, refugees from Afghanistan, most of whom fled the Soviet occupation of their country in the 1980s.<br />
<br />
The number of Afghans voluntarily returning home has plunged this year as violence worsens in Afghanistan, where the government and its US allies are fighting a stubborn Taliban insurgency.<br />
<br />
&quot;The prime minister has approved another six-month extension in the deadline,&quot; Imran Zeb Khan, the chief commissioner for Afghan Refugees, told Reuters in an interview.<br />
<br />
&quot;But Pakistan can&#39;t ensure that these refugees will return. That cannot happen without support from Afghanistan and the international community which need to create the right conditions for their repatriation.&quot;<br />
<br />
Khan said Pakistan would hold a tripartite meeting with Afghanistan and the United Nations refugee agency on July 19 to plan the way forward.<br />
<br />
The comments came soon after officials told Reuters at least 500 Afghan refugees were arrested in a northwestern border province and deported as a security risk.<br />
<br />
Pakistan&#39;s Dawn newspaper reported that more than 2,000 refugees were arrested in the last month, and 400 deported to Afghanistan.<br />
<br />
There are only 100,000 registered refugees in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, the site of the arrests, said provincial information minister Mushtaq Ahmad Ghani.<br />
<br />
&quot;We don&#39;t suggest any aggressive campaign against Afghan refugees, but we have been hosting them for the past 35 years and it is time they should go back to their country,&quot; Ghani said.<br />
<br />
Unregistered Afghans had become a major security issue for the government, he added. About 6,000 Afghans have chosen to return home from Pakistan in 2016, well below last year&#39;s figure of 58,211, the United Nations&#39; refugee agency has said.<br />
<br />
Registration cards allowing a temporary legal stay for Afghan refugees last received a six-month extension after they expired in December 2015.<br />
<br />
Many Afghans have lived in Pakistan for decades and contribute significantly to its labour force.<br />
<br />
But Afghan refugee camps have become &quot;safe havens for terrorists&quot;, Pakistani foreign policy chief Sartaj Aziz told a Pakistani television channel last week.<br />
<br />
Pakistani federal minister for states and frontier regions, Abdul Qadir Baloch, also warned that Pakistan was not willing to host Afghan refugees indefinitely.<br />
<br />
Visiting Pakistan last week, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, said he had made the case to the government for extending the June 30 deadline.<br />
<br />
(Reuters)

Pakistan has the world's second-largest refugee population, with about 2.5 million from Afghanistan

Pakistan has extended by six months a deadline for Afghan refugees to register with the government, a refugee official said on Wednesday, a day before the deadline was set to expire. Pakistan has the world's second largest refugee population, with more than 1.5 million registered, and about a million unregistered, refugees from Afghanistan, most of whom fled the Soviet occupation of their country in the 1980s. The number of Afghans voluntarily returning home has plunged this year as violence worsens in Afghanistan, where the government and its US allies are fighting a stubborn Taliban insurgency. "The prime minister has approved another six-month extension in the deadline," Imran Zeb Khan, the chief commissioner for Afghan Refugees, told Reuters in an interview. "But Pakistan can't ensure that these refugees will return. That cannot happen without support from Afghanistan and the international community which need to create the right conditions for their repatriation." Khan said Pakistan would hold a tripartite meeting with Afghanistan and the United Nations refugee agency on July 19 to plan the way forward. The comments came soon after officials told Reuters at least 500 Afghan refugees were arrested in a northwestern border province and deported as a security risk. Pakistan's Dawn newspaper reported that more than 2,000 refugees were arrested in the last month, and 400 deported to Afghanistan. There are only 100,000 registered refugees in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, the site of the arrests, said provincial information minister Mushtaq Ahmad Ghani. "We don't suggest any aggressive campaign against Afghan refugees, but we have been hosting them for the past 35 years and it is time they should go back to their country," Ghani said. Unregistered Afghans had become a major security issue for the government, he added. About 6,000 Afghans have chosen to return home from Pakistan in 2016, well below last year's figure of 58,211, the United Nations' refugee agency has said. Registration cards allowing a temporary legal stay for Afghan refugees last received a six-month extension after they expired in December 2015. Many Afghans have lived in Pakistan for decades and contribute significantly to its labour force. But Afghan refugee camps have become "safe havens for terrorists", Pakistani foreign policy chief Sartaj Aziz told a Pakistani television channel last week. Pakistani federal minister for states and frontier regions, Abdul Qadir Baloch, also warned that Pakistan was not willing to host Afghan refugees indefinitely. Visiting Pakistan last week, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, said he had made the case to the government for extending the June 30 deadline. (Reuters)

Pakistan extends deadline for Afghan refugees to register with the government

Heavy fighting between Islamic State (IS) militants and government security forces has claimed dozens of lives in eastern Afghanistan, officials said today.<br />
<br />
In recent months insurgents claiming allegiance to Islamic State had largely appeared to be bottled up in a mountainous area along the border with Pakistan under threat of US air strikes.<br />
<br />
The latest attacks indicate the group remains a potent threat to a government already battling an insurgency dominated by the rival Taliban.<br />
<br />
At least a dozen Afghan security forces and civilians had been killed, with another 18 wounded, Nangarhar province governor Saleem Khan Kunduzi said in a statement.<br />
<br />
Local officials claimed more than 100 Islamic State fighters had been killed in fighting in Nangarhar over the past three days, even though exact figures varied and could not be independently verified.<br />
<br />
&quot;There is no doubt that Daesh (IS) do not respect anyone,&quot; Kunduzi said, using a common term for Islamic State. &quot;They kill people, regardless of whether they&#39;re a child or a woman. They burn down madrasas, mosques and schools.&quot;<br />
<br />
As many as 25 homes had been burned down in Kowt district, and five civilians were reported kidnapped, Nangarhar officials said.<br />
<br />
Hundreds of police and soldiers are engaged in the area with reinforcements on the way, provincial police chief Zarawar Zahid said.<br />
<br />
At a small event today in Kabul, the head of Afghanistan&#39;s civil society federation, Sediq Ansari, blamed local leaders for being negligent in the face of Islamic State threats and called on them to be suspended.<br />
<br />
&quot;They should be accountable for every drop of blood that has been shed in Nangarhar so it becomes a lesson to other officials,&quot; he told gathered reporters.<br />
<br />
Militants linked to Islamic State have not made as much progress in Afghanistan as in Syria and Iraq, where the group seized major cities and wide swaths of territory and attracted thousands of recruits.<br />
<br />
In Afghanistan, the group is thought to consist mostly of disaffected members of other insurgent movements, including the Taliban, who have often battled Islamic State for control of areas in Nangarhar.<br />
<br />
In January, US President Barack Obama gave US forces in Afghanistan more freedom to attack Islamic State targets, leading to a spike in air strikes and other operations, especially in Nangarhar.<br />
<br />
No coalition forces have been involved in the latest fighting, spokesman Commander Ron Flesvig said.<br />
<br />
(Reuters)

According to local officials, more than 100 Islamic State fighters had been killed in fighting in Nangarhar over the past three days

Heavy fighting between Islamic State (IS) militants and government security forces has claimed dozens of lives in eastern Afghanistan, officials said today. In recent months insurgents claiming allegiance to Islamic State had largely appeared to be bottled up in a mountainous area along the border with Pakistan under threat of US air strikes. The latest attacks indicate the group remains a potent threat to a government already battling an insurgency dominated by the rival Taliban. At least a dozen Afghan security forces and civilians had been killed, with another 18 wounded, Nangarhar province governor Saleem Khan Kunduzi said in a statement. Local officials claimed more than 100 Islamic State fighters had been killed in fighting in Nangarhar over the past three days, even though exact figures varied and could not be independently verified. "There is no doubt that Daesh (IS) do not respect anyone," Kunduzi said, using a common term for Islamic State. "They kill people, regardless of whether they're a child or a woman. They burn down madrasas, mosques and schools." As many as 25 homes had been burned down in Kowt district, and five civilians were reported kidnapped, Nangarhar officials said. Hundreds of police and soldiers are engaged in the area with reinforcements on the way, provincial police chief Zarawar Zahid said. At a small event today in Kabul, the head of Afghanistan's civil society federation, Sediq Ansari, blamed local leaders for being negligent in the face of Islamic State threats and called on them to be suspended. "They should be accountable for every drop of blood that has been shed in Nangarhar so it becomes a lesson to other officials," he told gathered reporters. Militants linked to Islamic State have not made as much progress in Afghanistan as in Syria and Iraq, where the group seized major cities and wide swaths of territory and attracted thousands of recruits. In Afghanistan, the group is thought to consist mostly of disaffected members of other insurgent movements, including the Taliban, who have often battled Islamic State for control of areas in Nangarhar. In January, US President Barack Obama gave US forces in Afghanistan more freedom to attack Islamic State targets, leading to a spike in air strikes and other operations, especially in Nangarhar. No coalition forces have been involved in the latest fighting, spokesman Commander Ron Flesvig said. (Reuters)

Islamic State militants launch new attacks in eastern Afghanistan

&nbsp;The NPR photojournalist and his Afghan colleague killed in Afghanistan on Sunday died on the first day of an embed with local troops, highlighting the risks for reporters in a country where increasing amounts of territory are off-limits.<br />
<br />
Photographer David Gilkey and Zabihullah Tamanna, an Afghan journalist working as a translator, were killed in a Taliban ambush shortly after joining Afghan troops in Helmand province, one of the most volatile areas in the country.<br />
<br />
The NPR team, including Pentagon correspondent Tom Bowman and producer Monika Evstatieva, had just spent several days with coalition troops, including U.S. special forces, before they went over to an Afghan unit, said Colonel Michael Lawhorn, a spokesman for the NATO-led military coalition.<br />
<br />
The team spent Sunday morning in the provincial capital of Lashkar Gah interviewing local officials, according to Shakil Ahmad Tasal, a public affairs officer for the 205th Corps who accompanied the NPR team during the drive.<br />
<br />
The team carried a letter from the Afghan Ministry of Defence, directing the soldiers to escort them to the town of Marjah, roughly 30 km (18 miles) away, he said.<br />
<br />
While Lashkar Gah has remained in government control, some surrounding areas of Helmand have been under serious pressure from Islamist militants from the Taliban insurgency.<br />
<br />
Earlier this year in Marjah, U.S. forces conducted several air strikes to help beleaguered Afghan troops, and a U.S. Special Forces soldier was killed and two others were wounded during a Taliban attack.<br />
<br />
On Sunday afternoon, a convoy of six lightly armoured Humvees, which also carried an Afghan general, was nearing Marjah when Taliban gunmen opened fire, pelting the vehicles with small arms and rocket fire.<br />
<br />
&quot;We were taking very heavy fire,&quot; Tasal told Reuters.<br />
<br />
The Humvee carrying Tamanna and Gilkey was hit by a shell and caught fire, killing the journalists and the soldier driving the vehicle, according to witnesses and NPR.<br />
<br />
DOZENS FORM GUARD OF HONOUR<br />
<br />
A gunfight raged for at least 30 minutes before coalition and Afghan aircraft arrived overhead, apparently prompting the Taliban to break off the attack, Tasal said.<br />
<br />
The coalition said its aircraft provided surveillance for the Afghans, while attack aircraft were put on standby but never launched.<br />
<br />
The other two NPR staffers, travelling in another vehicle, were unharmed.<br />
<br />
A veteran photojournalist, Gilkey, 50, had reported from Afghanistan and Iraq since 2001, and won awards for covering veterans issues in the United States and the ebola breakout in Africa.<br />
<br />
In a video posted by NPR on May 13, just prior to his departure for Afghanistan, Gilkey described a desire to get close to what is happening.<br />
<br />
&quot;What I always try to show in my pictures is what it&#39;s like for the guys on the ground that are having to operate there,&quot; he said.<br />
<br />
Like many Afghan journalists who perform the lion&#39;s share of the work covering their country, Tamanna had worked for a variety of foreign outlets, including the Chinese news agency Xinhua and Turkey&#39;s Anadolu News Agency.<br />
<br />
Qualified journalists in their own right, Afghans like Tamanna are often contracted to provide translation and other help for foreign reporters.<br />
<br />
&quot;He was a very honest, responsible person and loved his country,&quot; Haroon Sabawoon, a friend and business partner, said of Tamanna. &quot;He was very polite, calm and had high hopes for peace and security.&quot;<br />
<br />
Tamanna, 38, left behind a wife and three children.<br />
<br />
Afghan troops recovered the bodies of the slain journalists and handed them over to coalition forces at Camp Shorab, where the team had just previously been embedded with American troops, Lawhorn said.<br />
<br />
&quot;Dozens and dozens&quot; of U.S. troops at the base formed an honour guard, stood to attention and saluted when the journalists&#39; remains arrived, Bowman reported to NPR.<br />
<br />
Coalition CH-47 helicopters then transported them to the base at Kandahar Air Field, Lawhorn said.

Photographer David Gilkey and Zabihullah Tamanna, an Afghan journalist working as a translator, were killed in a Taliban ambush shortly after joining Afghan troops in Helmand province, one of the most volatile areas in the country.

The NPR photojournalist and his Afghan colleague killed in Afghanistan on Sunday died on the first day of an embed with local troops, highlighting the risks for reporters in a country where increasing amounts of territory are off-limits. Photographer David Gilkey and Zabihullah Tamanna, an Afghan journalist working as a translator, were killed in a Taliban ambush shortly after joining Afghan troops in Helmand province, one of the most volatile areas in the country. The NPR team, including Pentagon correspondent Tom Bowman and producer Monika Evstatieva, had just spent several days with coalition troops, including U.S. special forces, before they went over to an Afghan unit, said Colonel Michael Lawhorn, a spokesman for the NATO-led military coalition. The team spent Sunday morning in the provincial capital of Lashkar Gah interviewing local officials, according to Shakil Ahmad Tasal, a public affairs officer for the 205th Corps who accompanied the NPR team during the drive. The team carried a letter from the Afghan Ministry of Defence, directing the soldiers to escort them to the town of Marjah, roughly 30 km (18 miles) away, he said. While Lashkar Gah has remained in government control, some surrounding areas of Helmand have been under serious pressure from Islamist militants from the Taliban insurgency. Earlier this year in Marjah, U.S. forces conducted several air strikes to help beleaguered Afghan troops, and a U.S. Special Forces soldier was killed and two others were wounded during a Taliban attack. On Sunday afternoon, a convoy of six lightly armoured Humvees, which also carried an Afghan general, was nearing Marjah when Taliban gunmen opened fire, pelting the vehicles with small arms and rocket fire. "We were taking very heavy fire," Tasal told Reuters. The Humvee carrying Tamanna and Gilkey was hit by a shell and caught fire, killing the journalists and the soldier driving the vehicle, according to witnesses and NPR. DOZENS FORM GUARD OF HONOUR A gunfight raged for at least 30 minutes before coalition and Afghan aircraft arrived overhead, apparently prompting the Taliban to break off the attack, Tasal said. The coalition said its aircraft provided surveillance for the Afghans, while attack aircraft were put on standby but never launched. The other two NPR staffers, travelling in another vehicle, were unharmed. A veteran photojournalist, Gilkey, 50, had reported from Afghanistan and Iraq since 2001, and won awards for covering veterans issues in the United States and the ebola breakout in Africa. In a video posted by NPR on May 13, just prior to his departure for Afghanistan, Gilkey described a desire to get close to what is happening. "What I always try to show in my pictures is what it's like for the guys on the ground that are having to operate there," he said. Like many Afghan journalists who perform the lion's share of the work covering their country, Tamanna had worked for a variety of foreign outlets, including the Chinese news agency Xinhua and Turkey's Anadolu News Agency. Qualified journalists in their own right, Afghans like Tamanna are often contracted to provide translation and other help for foreign reporters. "He was a very honest, responsible person and loved his country," Haroon Sabawoon, a friend and business partner, said of Tamanna. "He was very polite, calm and had high hopes for peace and security." Tamanna, 38, left behind a wife and three children. Afghan troops recovered the bodies of the slain journalists and handed them over to coalition forces at Camp Shorab, where the team had just previously been embedded with American troops, Lawhorn said. "Dozens and dozens" of U.S. troops at the base formed an honour guard, stood to attention and saluted when the journalists' remains arrived, Bowman reported to NPR. Coalition CH-47 helicopters then transported them to the base at Kandahar Air Field, Lawhorn said.

Embed quickly turned deadly for NPR team in Afghanistan

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on Monday launched restoration work at Kabul`s historic Darul Aman Palace, whose bombed out ruins have long symbolised the suffering caused by decades of conflict.&nbsp;<br />
<br />
The once-grand hilltop palace at the edge of Kabul was also the venue of Ghani`s cabinet meeting on Monday, the first such official gathering there in nearly a century.<br />
<br />
The building`s lion-headed buttresses are broken, its colonnades pockmarked by bullets, the metal sheets of its roof crumpled.&nbsp;<br />
Up to $20 million will be spent on restoring the former glory of the palace, built by Afghan King Amanullah Khan in the 1920s, Ghani`s office said, calling the project a symbol of national pride.<br />
<br />
&quot;Today we are returning to our past... to set the foundation for our future,&quot; Ghani said at the inauguration of the project.&nbsp;<br />
<br />
&quot;We are determined to reconstruct the historical structure from the budget of the Afghan government.&quot;<br />
<br />
The palace fell victim to the carnage of the early 1990s as rival mujahideen groups fought for power following the fall of a Soviet-backed regime after Moscow withdrew its troops from Afghanistan.&nbsp;<br />
<br />
Despite Ghani`s rhetoric, some in Kabul were against the restoration, however -- albeit for different reasons.<br />
&quot;I think it is a waste of money,&quot; Daud Hotak, a Kabul shopkeeper, told AFP.<br />
&quot;It comes at a time when the economy is in free fall and security is deteriorating. That money could have been spent to create jobs as thousands of people flee the country.&quot;<br />
<br />
Omaid Sharifi, a civil society activist, also pleaded against the restoration, though from a different perspective.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">President <a href="https://twitter.com/ashrafghani">@ashrafghani</a> keep <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/DarulamanPalace?src=hash">#DarulamanPalace</a> like this, let&#39;s remind our younger generation the brutality of war <a href="https://t.co/EzzYglMbhZ">pic.twitter.com/EzzYglMbhZ</a></p>
&mdash; Omaid Sharifi (@OmaidSharifi) <a href="https://twitter.com/OmaidSharifi/status/737168607227088896">May 30, 2016</a></blockquote>
<script async src="~/platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8" type="text/javascript"></script>

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on Monday launched restoration work at Kabul`s historic Darul Aman Palace, whose bombed out ruins have long symbolised the suffering caused by decades of conflict.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on Monday launched restoration work at Kabul`s historic Darul Aman Palace, whose bombed out ruins have long symbolised the suffering caused by decades of conflict. The once-grand hilltop palace at the edge of Kabul was also the venue of Ghani`s cabinet meeting on Monday, the first such official gathering there in nearly a century. The building`s lion-headed buttresses are broken, its colonnades pockmarked by bullets, the metal sheets of its roof crumpled. Up to $20 million will be spent on restoring the former glory of the palace, built by Afghan King Amanullah Khan in the 1920s, Ghani`s office said, calling the project a symbol of national pride. "Today we are returning to our past... to set the foundation for our future," Ghani said at the inauguration of the project. "We are determined to reconstruct the historical structure from the budget of the Afghan government." The palace fell victim to the carnage of the early 1990s as rival mujahideen groups fought for power following the fall of a Soviet-backed regime after Moscow withdrew its troops from Afghanistan. Despite Ghani`s rhetoric, some in Kabul were against the restoration, however -- albeit for different reasons. "I think it is a waste of money," Daud Hotak, a Kabul shopkeeper, told AFP. "It comes at a time when the economy is in free fall and security is deteriorating. That money could have been spent to create jobs as thousands of people flee the country." Omaid Sharifi, a civil society activist, also pleaded against the restoration, though from a different perspective. President @ashrafghani keep #DarulamanPalace like this, let's remind our younger generation the brutality of war pic.twitter.com/EzzYglMbhZ — Omaid Sharifi (@OmaidSharifi) May 30, 2016

Restoration starts at Kabul`s war-battered palace

<p>After a break of 20 years,&nbsp;Afghanistan&#39;s first&nbsp;cementfactory is once more clanking noisily in the countryside near Kabul as crushed-up limestone rocks rattle along a battered conveyor belt to the newly restored kiln.</p>

<p>In an area desperately short of industry and jobs, workers hope the relaunch of the plant, built by Czech engineers in 1957 and shut by the Taliban in 1995, heralds the revival of an industry shattered by decades of war and destruction.</p>

<p>&quot;By selling our products and improving the factory&#39;s production, we can avoid having our young generation go abroad,&quot; said Amir Mohammad. &quot;If there are job possibilities, they can stay with their families and look after their children.&quot;</p>

<p>But the outdated state-owned plant 75 km (47 miles) outside Kabul also shows how far there is to go before that promise can be achieved and there are serious questions whether the plant has a viable future unless it is thoroughly modernised.</p>

<p>Jabal Saraj, which now employs 150 workers, is a small factory with daily capacity of 100 tonnes and equipment that is at least 40 years out of date, the U.S. Geological Survey said in a 2011 report.</p>

<p>&quot;We&#39;ve tried our best and got the factory running using its old machinery,&quot; said Abdul Wakil, one of a group of former workers who have returned to help get the plant working again. &quot;As long as we have electricity, it will work.&quot;</p>

<p>Talks with a private operator to develop a separate, larger plant at Jabal Saraj have run for months, but for now, the government has decided the old plant still serves a purpose, a spokesman for the country&#39;s mines and petroleum ministry said.</p>

<p>&quot;This old factory is useful and has a profitable production capacity,&quot; Mohyaddin Noori added. &quot;It provides job opportunities.&quot;</p>

<p>Afghanistan&#39;s only other major&nbsp;cement&nbsp;manufacturer, the Ghori&nbsp;cement&nbsp;plant, has daily capacity of more than 1,000 tonnes, but domestic industry is dwarfed by the millions of tonnes of imports from neighbours, including Pakistan and Iran.</p>

<p>That fierce competition makes it tough to find domestically produced&nbsp;cement&nbsp;in Kabul&#39;s main wholesale markets, even despite the fact that domestic&nbsp;cement&#39;s bulk and relatively low cost should penalize foreign&nbsp;cement, trucked in hundreds of miles.</p>

<p>&quot;We have only Pakistani&nbsp;cement,&quot; said trader Ershad Shinwari. &quot;Afghan-made&nbsp;cement&nbsp;is not coming to us.&quot;</p>

<p>Demand for building materials has fallen sharply since international forces left in 2014 but the market has not collapsed and director Mohammadi hopes for domestic growth.</p>

<p>&quot;There is huge demand for&nbsp;cement&nbsp;in&nbsp;Afghanistan,&quot; he said. &quot;We&#39;ve got the factory working, so it will give investors a chance.&quot;</p>

<p>For the moment, however, Jabal Saraj relies on government subsidy to survive. The economics may be tough, but it is people nearby who are mainly looking for work.</p>

<p>&quot;We ask the other countries to help this factory and provide new machinery to replace the old machines,&quot; said plant worker Wazir Mohammad.</p>

<p>&quot;It will be very useful for our people as long as there is poverty in&nbsp;Afghanistan&nbsp;and everyone suffers insecurity.&quot;</p>


After a break of 20 years,?Afghanistan's first?cementfactory is once more clanking noisily in the countryside near Kabul as crushed-up limestone rocks rattle along a battered conveyor belt to the newly restored kiln. In an area desperately short of industry and jobs, workers hope the relaunch of the plant built by Czech engineers in 1957 and shut by the Taliban in 1995.

After a break of 20 years, Afghanistan's first cementfactory is once more clanking noisily in the countryside near Kabul as crushed-up limestone rocks rattle along a battered conveyor belt to the newly restored kiln. In an area desperately short of industry and jobs, workers hope the relaunch of the plant, built by Czech engineers in 1957 and shut by the Taliban in 1995, heralds the revival of an industry shattered by decades of war and destruction. "By selling our products and improving the factory's production, we can avoid having our young generation go abroad," said Amir Mohammad. "If there are job possibilities, they can stay with their families and look after their children." But the outdated state-owned plant 75 km (47 miles) outside Kabul also shows how far there is to go before that promise can be achieved and there are serious questions whether the plant has a viable future unless it is thoroughly modernised. Jabal Saraj, which now employs 150 workers, is a small factory with daily capacity of 100 tonnes and equipment that is at least 40 years out of date, the U.S. Geological Survey said in a 2011 report. "We've tried our best and got the factory running using its old machinery," said Abdul Wakil, one of a group of former workers who have returned to help get the plant working again. "As long as we have electricity, it will work." Talks with a private operator to develop a separate, larger plant at Jabal Saraj have run for months, but for now, the government has decided the old plant still serves a purpose, a spokesman for the country's mines and petroleum ministry said. "This old factory is useful and has a profitable production capacity," Mohyaddin Noori added. "It provides job opportunities." Afghanistan's only other major cement manufacturer, the Ghori cement plant, has daily capacity of more than 1,000 tonnes, but domestic industry is dwarfed by the millions of tonnes of imports from neighbours, including Pakistan and Iran. That fierce competition makes it tough to find domestically produced cement in Kabul's main wholesale markets, even despite the fact that domestic cement's bulk and relatively low cost should penalize foreign cement, trucked in hundreds of miles. "We have only Pakistani cement," said trader Ershad Shinwari. "Afghan-made cement is not coming to us." Demand for building materials has fallen sharply since international forces left in 2014 but the market has not collapsed and director Mohammadi hopes for domestic growth. "There is huge demand for cement in Afghanistan," he said. "We've got the factory working, so it will give investors a chance." For the moment, however, Jabal Saraj relies on government subsidy to survive. The economics may be tough, but it is people nearby who are mainly looking for work. "We ask the other countries to help this factory and provide new machinery to replace the old machines," said plant worker Wazir Mohammad. "It will be very useful for our people as long as there is poverty in Afghanistan and everyone suffers insecurity."

Hopes and fears for jobs as Afghan cement factory reopens

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