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Could one of the moderators please move this to "International Situation & World News". Sorry, my bad. Richie
I think this article speaks for itself. <a href="http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=396613">Link to Article</a>
Even local Afghans come up short in Taliban dealings
Zabul elders attempt to negotiate a separate peace, finds orders from terrorist leadership in Pakistan are 'to burn reconstruction projects'
Mike Blanchfield, Canwest News Service Published: Monday, March 24, 2008
QALAT, Afghanistan -- Faced with Taliban militants burning down their schools and killing their people, the elders of this impoverished province took a drastic step. They went behind the backs of the American military and their own government to negotiate with the Taliban.
But Haji Hashem, chairman of Zabul provincial council, learned an important lesson when he and other leaders sat down with Taliban commanders, one he was reminded of Monday after weekend carnage left more that three dozen Taliban dead: negotiating with the insurgents simply is not a viable option.
"At first, we negotiate. Otherwise the fight is the only way we can solve the problem. It's the second best way," Haji Hashem, chairman of Zabul provincial council, told Canwest News in an exclusive interview from the capital of remote and impoverished Zabul province that borders Pakistan.
"I don't like to hear about death," Mr. Hashem said. "Sometimes NATO has to fight."
Mr. Hashem's comments came after a weekend in which a major offensive by coalition and Afghan forces left several dozen Taliban fighters dead in neighbouring Uruzgan province. Here in Zabul, nestled between Canada's base in Kandahar province and the border with Pakistan, the local Afghan police also killed four Taliban insurgents on the weekend.
"If they stand against the government, we should get rid of them," Mr. Hashem said. "I am hopeful we will have good police."
Zabul ranks a close fourth behind Kandahar, Helmand and Uruzgan as the most violent of Afghanistan's southern provinces. But its proximity to the Pakistan border, where al-Qaeda and Taliban militants regroup and re-energize to launch attacks in the south on coalition troops, poses an additional security threat.
As he sipped tea, Mr. Hashem recalled for the first time the clandestine negotiations that took place in December.
Elders and local politicians here tell of repeated abductions, especially of schoolteachers and local mullahs, threats, intimidation and mutilation of local people. All of this has continued in a desperately poor, illiterate region that has traditionally relied on opium farming.
So Mr. Hashem said local elders felt they had little to lose by reaching out to the Taliban. "We had a jirga of peace and security and it was the decision of the jirga to talk to those guys."
But they did not tell U.S. authorities, which have jurisdiction over this region and have pumped more than $140-million in aid into the province. Nor did they tell their own government. "We just brought the result (of the negotiation) to the governor," Mr. Hashem said.
They arranged a meeting in Sharizifat, a remote rural region.
"We asked them, don't burn our schools, don't bother those doing construction, don't torture or kill," he recalled.
But the message that came back from the four Taliban commanders sent to talk was firm.
"We got orders from Pakistan. We got orders to burn reconstruction projects," he recalled.
The Taliban told them not to send their children to school, and to withhold support for the 39-country International Security Assistance Force. They called ISAF thieves, who "don't have a specific plan" to help their country.
"If you have a social problem, come to us," was how the Talib negotiators put it, said Hashem.
But the locals made some progress with the Taliban before the meeting broke up.
"They agreed not to kill and torture, but said they will continue to damage," Mr. Hashem said.
The Taliban negotiators told them that if they allow reconstruction projects to take place, it would only legitimize Afghanistan's government and that could not be allowed. But their decision to back off of the local population was welcome news.
"We suffer from these Taliban guy's actions," Mr. Hashem said. "They were beheading people. They were torturing people. They were coming for lunch and dinner [to people's homes] asking for food."
Those terrorizing Zabul are not a faceless gang to their victims. Mr. Hashem named three of the top Taliban leaders responsible for the carnage here: Qari Mohammad Nur, Mullah Abdul Bari and Haji Talib.
Most of the fighters are foreign, Mr. Hashem explained. "They are Chechen, Arab, Punjab from Pakistan."
Mr. Hashem said the Taliban insurgency operates in cells of 10 to 15 that stay in radio contact across the countryside.
In recent months, there has been a noticeable drop in civilian casualties, he said, but outlying areas remain vulnerable.
That assessment was echoed by his friend, Mullah Zarif, who left the remote northeast district of Zabul to travel to Qalat Monday for meetings.
Despite the Taliban's dwindling numbers, Mr. Zarif urged NATO to send more troops to Afghanistan because its remote areas are still being preyed upon heavily.
"Spring is coming and this is a big challenge for Zabul province because the insurgents are starting their activities," Mr. Zarif said.
Ottawa Citizen
I think this article speaks for itself. <a href="http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=396613">Link to Article</a>
Even local Afghans come up short in Taliban dealings
Zabul elders attempt to negotiate a separate peace, finds orders from terrorist leadership in Pakistan are 'to burn reconstruction projects'
Mike Blanchfield, Canwest News Service Published: Monday, March 24, 2008
QALAT, Afghanistan -- Faced with Taliban militants burning down their schools and killing their people, the elders of this impoverished province took a drastic step. They went behind the backs of the American military and their own government to negotiate with the Taliban.
But Haji Hashem, chairman of Zabul provincial council, learned an important lesson when he and other leaders sat down with Taliban commanders, one he was reminded of Monday after weekend carnage left more that three dozen Taliban dead: negotiating with the insurgents simply is not a viable option.
"At first, we negotiate. Otherwise the fight is the only way we can solve the problem. It's the second best way," Haji Hashem, chairman of Zabul provincial council, told Canwest News in an exclusive interview from the capital of remote and impoverished Zabul province that borders Pakistan.
"I don't like to hear about death," Mr. Hashem said. "Sometimes NATO has to fight."
Mr. Hashem's comments came after a weekend in which a major offensive by coalition and Afghan forces left several dozen Taliban fighters dead in neighbouring Uruzgan province. Here in Zabul, nestled between Canada's base in Kandahar province and the border with Pakistan, the local Afghan police also killed four Taliban insurgents on the weekend.
"If they stand against the government, we should get rid of them," Mr. Hashem said. "I am hopeful we will have good police."
Zabul ranks a close fourth behind Kandahar, Helmand and Uruzgan as the most violent of Afghanistan's southern provinces. But its proximity to the Pakistan border, where al-Qaeda and Taliban militants regroup and re-energize to launch attacks in the south on coalition troops, poses an additional security threat.
As he sipped tea, Mr. Hashem recalled for the first time the clandestine negotiations that took place in December.
Elders and local politicians here tell of repeated abductions, especially of schoolteachers and local mullahs, threats, intimidation and mutilation of local people. All of this has continued in a desperately poor, illiterate region that has traditionally relied on opium farming.
So Mr. Hashem said local elders felt they had little to lose by reaching out to the Taliban. "We had a jirga of peace and security and it was the decision of the jirga to talk to those guys."
But they did not tell U.S. authorities, which have jurisdiction over this region and have pumped more than $140-million in aid into the province. Nor did they tell their own government. "We just brought the result (of the negotiation) to the governor," Mr. Hashem said.
They arranged a meeting in Sharizifat, a remote rural region.
"We asked them, don't burn our schools, don't bother those doing construction, don't torture or kill," he recalled.
But the message that came back from the four Taliban commanders sent to talk was firm.
"We got orders from Pakistan. We got orders to burn reconstruction projects," he recalled.
The Taliban told them not to send their children to school, and to withhold support for the 39-country International Security Assistance Force. They called ISAF thieves, who "don't have a specific plan" to help their country.
"If you have a social problem, come to us," was how the Talib negotiators put it, said Hashem.
But the locals made some progress with the Taliban before the meeting broke up.
"They agreed not to kill and torture, but said they will continue to damage," Mr. Hashem said.
The Taliban negotiators told them that if they allow reconstruction projects to take place, it would only legitimize Afghanistan's government and that could not be allowed. But their decision to back off of the local population was welcome news.
"We suffer from these Taliban guy's actions," Mr. Hashem said. "They were beheading people. They were torturing people. They were coming for lunch and dinner [to people's homes] asking for food."
Those terrorizing Zabul are not a faceless gang to their victims. Mr. Hashem named three of the top Taliban leaders responsible for the carnage here: Qari Mohammad Nur, Mullah Abdul Bari and Haji Talib.
Most of the fighters are foreign, Mr. Hashem explained. "They are Chechen, Arab, Punjab from Pakistan."
Mr. Hashem said the Taliban insurgency operates in cells of 10 to 15 that stay in radio contact across the countryside.
In recent months, there has been a noticeable drop in civilian casualties, he said, but outlying areas remain vulnerable.
That assessment was echoed by his friend, Mullah Zarif, who left the remote northeast district of Zabul to travel to Qalat Monday for meetings.
Despite the Taliban's dwindling numbers, Mr. Zarif urged NATO to send more troops to Afghanistan because its remote areas are still being preyed upon heavily.
"Spring is coming and this is a big challenge for Zabul province because the insurgents are starting their activities," Mr. Zarif said.
Ottawa Citizen
