Wall Street Journal, 7 March 2012 And one more report on corruption: ‘The U.S. is investigating allegations that some officials in the Afghan Air Force, which was established largely with American funds, have been using aircraft to ferry narcotics and illegal weapons around the country […]. An AAF spokesman, Lt. Col. Mohammed Bahadur, denied the […]
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New York Times, 7 March 2012 An update on the KabulBank scandal and a rendering of a fascinating ‘new’ corruption case, involving Afghan Army’s former surgeon general, Gen. Ahmad Zia Yaftali ‘suspended in December 2010 after Gen. David H. Petraeus, then the coalition commander, told Mr. Karzai that NATO investigators had found that the Afghan […]
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Friday Times, 2-8 March 2012 The quality Pakistani weekly takes a look at the situation in the Kurram agency after 43 people were killed in a suicide attack outside a mosque in Parachinar in February, on the various Pakistani Taleban splinter groups involved and the role of the Haqqani network in it.
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Newsline (Pakistan), 11 February 2012 The Pakistani magazine looks at the politicking behind Pakistani politician and ex-cricketer Imran Khan’s ascent and at the ‘new’ faces joining his movement.
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New York Times, 5 March 2012 The background story on the dismissal of Maulvi Faqir Muhammad as deputy head of the Pakistani Taleban umbrella organisation TTP, on the issue of peace talks with the Pakistani government.
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The Hindu, 1 March 2012 The Hindu’s Praveen Swami who has emerged lately as a well-informed Taleban watcher, usually quoting very well informed Indian diplomats, and this time a European diplomat, too, comes up with another scoop: According to his sources, the Taleban are demanding ‘dramatic constitutional changes which would make Mullah Muhammad Omar Afghanistan’s […]
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New York Times, 23 February 2012 This report, compiled for the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force by special operations interrogators, provides a negative view of the alliance’s prospects in the view of Taliban prisoners.
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Huffington Post, 22 February 2012 Christine Fair’s essential piece explaining the politicking behind a call of some US congress members to redraw Pakistan’s borders – and on their latest Afghan initiative: ‘Unfortunately, this [on Balochistan] is not the first geopolitical exploit Mr. Rohrabacher has orchestrated. In January of 2012, he and Mr. Gohmert, among other […]
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RFE, 17 February 2012 According to a member of Afghanistan’s Upper House, a fake MP has visited two districts in Kandahar province and the provincial prison, facilitated by provincial governor Weesa who apparently did not check his identity.
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IWPR, 15 February 2012 An investigation of the Kabul-based journalists organisation finds that in Balkh province, 12 out of the 15 sub-governors rarely appeared at their workplaces in 2011 between March and August, even though Balkh is considered one of the safest provinces in Afghanistan.
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Arabian Business, 14 February 2012 ‘An estimated $8bn is believed to have been stashed away in Dubai by Afghan investors in recent years, according to experts. “They come and spend cash and they know what they want. They are mainly looking for the Palm. Just right now, we have two or three big negotiations that […]
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IWPR, 14 February 2012 Afghan businessmen claim that police and relatives of powerful officials have been linked to a wave of kidnapping and killing of colleagues. The Afghan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, ACCI, says 85 of its members have been killed or abducted since late March 2011, 20 more than in the preceding 12 […]
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